The scale of the persecution of Catholics under the regime of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua has been laid bare by a new report chronicling 529 attacks in the last five years alone.

Jesuit Fr Kevin O’Higgins, who spent decades working in Latin America, told The Irish Catholic the report is “vital” in highlighting the crisis and urged Irish Catholics to keep the situation in the public eye. He also said the report could aid future prosecutions of the perpetrators.

Mr Ortega’s dictatorship is accused of 90 attacks this year alone in its crackdown on the Church – more than in any previous year since 2018.

Fr O’Higgins insisted that “it is vital that the names and faces of victims of the persecution should be known”.