The Nicaraguan regime of former Marxist guerrilla-leader Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, his wife and Vice President, closed out 2023 with a new wave of abductions of Catholic clergy. It currently holds 2 bishops, 15 priests, and 2 seminarians in “custody”.
Pope Francis prayed for Nicaragua and shared his concern for the situation during New Year’s Angelus. “I follow with deep concern what is happening in Nicaragua, where Bishops and priests have been deprived of their freedom. I express my closeness in prayer to them, their families, and the entire Church in the country”, he said.
Likewise, on January 2, the U.S. Department of State issued a statement calling for the immediate release of Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa, who has been unjustly incarcerated for over 500 days and was sentenced last February to 26 years in prison on charges of treason. A few hours later, the dictatorship published some images of Bishop Álvarez to demonstrate he was in “adequate health” but exhibited no willingness to release him.
While Ortega’s regime has always been hostile to the Church, it was after the 2018 anti-government marches that the persecution arose. In the past five years, Church funds have been seized, religious congregations have been expelled from the country, and Masses are heavily monitored by the government.