Walter Sánchez Silva
Walter Sánchez Silva is a senior writer for ACI Prensa (https://www.aciprensa.com). With more than 15 years of experience, he has reported from important ecclesial events in Europe, Asia and Latin America during the pontificates of Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. E-mail: walter@aciprensa.com
Articles by Walter Sánchez Silva
Nicaragua’s dictatorship sentences Bishop Rolando Álvarez to 26 years in prison
Feb 10, 2023 / 18:00 pmThe Ortega regime sentenced the bishop on Friday, Feb. 10, to 26 years and four months in prison, accusing him of being a “traitor to the homeland.”
Why persecuted Nicaragua bishop turned down the chance to leave the country
Feb 10, 2023 / 14:45 pmBishop Rolando Álvarez refused to leave Nicaragua along with the 222 political prisoners who were deported by the Daniel Ortega dictatorship Feb. 9.
Priest kidnapped in Haiti; captors demand ransom
Feb 8, 2023 / 16:00 pmThe Claretian Missionaries’ Independent Delegation for the Antilles reported that on Feb. 7 one of its priests was kidnapped.
Spanish priest calls out Father James Martin for his ‘poisoned doctrine’ on homosexuality
Jan 24, 2023 / 14:30 pmFather Francisco José Delgado said that “Martin, an American Jesuit, has the habit of speaking out on social media in a scandalous way against the Catholic faith.”
2022 was the worst year for the Catholic Church in Nicaragua
Dec 29, 2022 / 14:00 pmLawyer and researcher Martha Patricia Molina Montenegro reported that “2022 was the most disastrous year for the Nicaraguan Catholic Church.”
French ‘influencer’ priest posts video parodies of Mass, apologies to those who ‘may have felt hurt’
Nov 15, 2022 / 16:36 pmA French “influencer” priest who was asked by the Vatican to help out with a survey for the Synod on Synodality has sparked controversy for his videos.
A million march throughout Mexico for women, life, and peace
Oct 10, 2022 / 12:40 pmThe marches took place Oct. 8–9 in cities in 30 states “in favor of the causes of women, the protection of human life, and for peace in Mexico.”
Italian court acquits three Legionaries of Christ of extortion charges
Oct 4, 2022 / 17:20 pmThe Legionaries of Christ announced Monday the conclusion of a judicial process in the Ordinary Court of Milan involving three priests and two other persons in Italy.
Guatemalan cardinal responds to Daniel Ortega’s attack on the Church
Oct 4, 2022 / 14:16 pmCardinal Álvaro Leonel Ramazzini Imeri of Huehuetenango gave a spirited response to Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega, who a few days ago verbally attacked Pope Francis and said that the Catholic Church is “the perfect dictatorship.”
Violence and corruption won’t build up Chile, cardinal says at independence prayer service
Sep 19, 2022 / 13:06 pmCardinal Celestino Aós Braco of Santiago de Chile said in a prayer service marking the country’s independence that neither violence nor corruption will build Chile.
Archbishop, Carmelite nuns sign agreement after conflict over alleged Marian apparitions
Sep 7, 2022 / 14:34 pmThe Discalced Carmelite sisters of the monastery of San Bernardo in Salta, Argentina, signed an agreement with Archbishop Mario Antonio Cargnello following the conflict.
Police harassment forces priest to celebrate Mass outside church in Nicaragua
Aug 16, 2022 / 14:30 pmA group of police officers from the Daniel Ortega dictatorship in Nicaragua arrived at a parish Aug. 16 with the intention of arresting the pastor.
Victim of Bishop Zanchetta: ‘Don't turn your back on us; we didn’t deserve such treatment’
Aug 13, 2022 / 04:00 amBishop Gustavo Zanchetta of Oran, Argentina, was found guilty of abuse and sentenced to prison in March, but in July he served his sentence under house arrest.
Could priests in Mexico avoid being killed by wearing a cassock?
Aug 4, 2022 / 04:00 amBishop Jesús González Hernández said wearing religious clothing could prevent Catholic priests from being victims of violence.
Opus Dei in Argentina responds to accusations of exploiting women
Aug 3, 2022 / 14:47 pmThe BBC published an article Aug. 2 reporting that 43 women from Argentina, Paraguay, and Bolivia made a complaint against Opus Dei with the Vatican in September 2021.
What to do when there's fake news such as the 'death' of Benedict XVI: A priest responds
Jul 14, 2022 / 15:27 pmFather Juan Manuel Góngora of Almería, Spain, said the latest online hoax is “one more proof” of the need for better reliability and verification criteria of online news.
Costa Rican bishop receives Missionaries of Charity expelled from Nicaragua
Jul 12, 2022 / 09:35 amBishop Eugenio Salazar Mora of Tilarán-Liberia in Costa Rica greeted the nuns one by one and knelt as he greeted their superior.
Mexican bishop to country's president: 'We've done our job as pastors'
Jul 11, 2022 / 16:30 pmBishop Ramón Castro Castro on July 9 responded to recent remarks by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who called the Catholic Church in Mexico “hypocritical.”
Pope Francis jokes about upcoming Canada trip: 'They say it's not easy, I think it is'
Jul 11, 2022 / 15:31 pmAfter visiting a community of Jesuits in Rome this weekend, Pope Francis joked about his upcoming trip to Canada, from July 24-30.
Missionaries of Charity expelled from Nicaragua
Jul 7, 2022 / 15:00 pmThe action is the latest in religious persecutions that have escalated there in the last four years.