Fernando Cardenal

Fernando Cardenal Martínez (26 January 1934 – 20 February 2016) was a Nicaraguan Jesuit and liberation theologian.

[1]: 74 Because of his ties to the leftist Sandinistas and liberation theology, he was forced to leave the Society of Jesus, and, together with his brother Ernesto, he had his priesthood suspended directly by Pope John Paul II.

In an open letter published in 1984[citation needed] he wrote: "I cannot conceive of a God that would ask me to abandon my commitment to the people […] From my point of view, and from my personal experience, it is possible to live […] simultaneously (in) fidelity to the church as a Jesuit and as a priest, and also devote myself to the service of the poor in Nicaragua from within the Sandinista revolution."

He talked there about his commitment to help the poor and his experience as a Jesuit priest and liberation theologian during the Nicaraguan Revolution.

[7] His funeral was held February 21, 2016 at the Jesuit-run Central American University in Managua.