Nicaragua decree demoting Vatican ambassador is retaliation for Church comments, say diplomats

FILE PHOTO: Apostolic Nuncio Monsignor Stanislaw Sommertag (C) speaks during a news conference in Managua, Nicaragua March 5, 2019. REUTERS/Oswaldo Rivas/File Photo

ROME (Reuters) - A Nicaraguan presidential decree affecting the Holy See's ambassador in the Central American country appears to be retaliation for comments made by the local Church leadership criticizing the government's slide away from democracy, diplomats said on Friday.

President Daniel Ortega's decree this week stripped the Vatican's ambassador in Managua, Archbishop Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag, of his title and role as dean of the diplomatic corps.