Buffalo, NY - Canisius President John J. Hurley issued a statement today, Monday, June 4, 2018, expressing solidarity with the college's Jesuit sister institution, the University of Central America (UCA) of Nicaragua, which calls its students to peaceful advocacy for social justice, even as government violence at the University’s gates suppresses dissent. President Hurley's statement reads as follows:
"The violent repression of peaceful protests arising out of the Nicaragua’s current political crisis and social security reform proposal is costing precious lives and creating devastating threats to democracy, peace, civility and hope to the people who reside there.
Caught in the crosshairs of this turmoil, is our Jesuit sister institution, the University of Central America (UCA) of Nicaragua. Like all Jesuit institutions that are called to both provide students with professional formation and to encourage their commitment to a just, humane and environmentally sustainable world, our colleagues and peers and UCA of Nicaragua find their right to peaceful protest and freedom of expression under siege. The life of UCA Rector, Fr. “Chepe” Idiaquez, S.J. has been threatened in the course of these protests and any such attempts to silence or vilify him and the students he protects represent an explicit abandonment of the ideals of democracy.
Canisius stands in solidarity with the UCA and its sister institutions across the globe in calling for an end to the violence and restored respect by the government for the people’s constitutional rights, most especially freedom of expression and the right to peaceful protest. The UCA of Nicaragua is upholding its commitment to the students it serves, its mission to search for truth and justice, and to shelter those under attack. Canisius urges the government and the dissenting voices to come together to search for a reasonable, fair, and peaceful solution to the conflicts they face. We also call upon the Trump Administration, members of Congress, members of our campus community, the Diocese of Buffalo and all those who advocate for human rights, to join us in opposing this injustice and to act prayerfully and purposefully to bring about a peace for the Nicaraguan people."
Very truly yours,
John J. Hurley
Click here to learn more about the situation in Nicaragua and the response by the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU).
