[1/5] A guard mans the access to the Jesuit Central American University (UCA) in Managua, Nicaragua August 16, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer Acquire Licensing RightsAug 18 (Reuters) - The superior general of the worldwide Jesuit religious order has condemned the closure of its university in Nicaragua as part of a government attempt to "suffocate" the Catholic Church and civic institutions in the Central American country. The United States has condemned the confiscation of the assets of the Central American University (UCA) as a further erosion of democracy. The government's action against UCA, other Catholic institutions and civic organisations, was aimed at "suffocating, closing or appropriating them", Sosa said. Vatican officials see the oppression of the Church in Nicaragua as one of the worst since the Cold War, when many communist countries in Eastern Europe persecuted the Church.

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Persons: Stringer, Father Arturo Sosa, Sosa, Father Jose Domingo Cuesta, Daniel Ortega, Arturo, Philip Pullella, Christian Schmollinger, Robert Birsel Organizations: Jesuit Central American University, UCA, REUTERS, Catholic Church, Central American, order's Central, Reuters, The United, Central American University, Nicaraguan, Central America, Nicaragua's Catholic Church, Thomson Locations: Managua, Nicaragua, The United States, Rome, Venezuelan, Eastern Europe, Antonio