Police dismiss criminal hand in fire at Managua Cathedral. The Church maintains that it was a planned attack

A priest and a nun pray next to the image of the Blood of Christ after a fire burned her in the Cathedral of Managua on July 31, 2020 (Oswaldo Rivas / POOL / AFP / Getty Images).

(CNN Spanish) - The Nicaraguan National Police concluded on Monday that there was no criminal hand in the fire registered on Friday in a Chapel of the Cathedral of Managua, which severely damaged the image of the Blood of Christ, a crucifix of great veneration for Catholics in the country.

The fire, according to the report presented to the official media, "was caused by a combination of physical and chemical elements that affected the platform where the venerated image is located."

According to the conclusions of the police expert reports: «The mechanism for starting and spreading the fire originated when the alcohol vapors ascended to the ceiling of the chapel, carried by the air currents that enter through the access doors and their subsequent descent by a hole in the upper part of the dome of the Blood of Christ where they accumulated ”and adds that when these vapors mixed with the hot air the fire was produced, in a chemical action known as solvation.

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"The fire in the Sangre de Cristo chapel was unintentional, ruling out criminal action," the police report concludes.

The Archbishop of Managua and the rest of the Catholic hierarchy have so far not officially reacted to this police report. CNN contacted the press officer of the Archdiocese of Managua, who indicated that they maintain what was expressed in the July 31 statement.

"We repudiate the terrorist act perpetrated today (July 31) against the Blessed Sacrament in the chapel dedicated to the consecrated and historical image of the Blood of Christ, which was entirely burned by an unidentified artifact but of a destructive and forceful force in which a premeditated and planned act is recognized by a person skilled in manipulating this type of sinister object, "said the Archdiocese.

For its part, the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM), through a statement dated August 1, condemned the events.

"From the Latin American Episcopal Council we reject and regret the insane act that occurred in the Chapel of the Blood of Christ ... and the damage to the 383-year-old image, symbol of Nicaragua and refuge for the pilgrims who have visited it, deeply injures the Nicaraguan people for the cruel attack against this national religious and historical heritage ». CELAM condemned any act of sacrilege that threatens the Church, especially in this time of pandemic.

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Added to this condemnation were Pope Francis, the United States Ambassador to Nicaragua, the European Union, the Superior Council of Private Enterprise and the Opposition Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy.