Pope John Paul's Trip To Nicaragua

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CASE STUDY: POPE JOHN PAUL’S VISIT TO NICARAGUA 1983 During the early 1980s, the Catholic Church felt that it controlled much of the religious and political alliances throughout the world. The Catholic Church had control of a strong anti-communist approach in Europe, and because of this felt alarmed at the alliance that was forming between priests and Marxists in Latin America. The priests felt as if they were doing much like Christ would in helping the poor’s interests. Tension also brewed between the Church and the Sandinista state. The priests hoped to resolve the issue when Pope John Paul II visited Nicaragua in 1983. During the pope’s visit to Nicaragua, many Catholics in the country held high expectations of him. The Nicaraguan Catholic hierarchy hoped that the Pope would support them on the atheist approach used by the Sandinista government. The Sandinista government also fought for their belief to have peace. These people were hoping the pope would say some words of wisdom and of consolation to the families who lost loved ones to daily counterrevolutions. Also, many people felt that the Pope would make some sympathetic remarks to those affected by teenagers who were killed in an accident and buried. One lady even asked for the Pope to offer a prayer for those who had recently died. Most importantly of all, however, was the public’s demand for a church on the side of the poor. The Pope also conducted many speeches during his time in Nicaragua and thus provided hope in the people’s belief in the Mass that he would provide peace. The Pope’s visit however did affect the future in that it was a boost for the counter-revolutionaries and the number of battles was growing the area. Also, the talks of the public in the area were all about war. The Nicaraguan visit by the Pope developed fear in the many
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