Nicaraguans celebrate Mass peacefully after procession ban

By GABRIELA SELSER
Associated Press

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hundreds of Nicaraguans have attended Mass under a heavy police presence after the government prohibited a religious procession in the capital amid tensions with the Roman Catholic Church. Church leaders announced Friday that the National Police had banned the planned procession Saturday for Our Lady of Fatima , citing reasons of “internal security.” Instead, the church called the faithful to come peacefully to the cathedral Saturday. Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes said they gathered “with a lot of happiness, but also with a lot of sadness” due to “the situation we have lived in our parishes.”