Pope Francis urges dialogue after bishop’s arrest in Nicaragua

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21st Aug, 2022. 06:53 pm
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Pope Francis calls for an “open and sincere” dialogue between the Church and the government.
He made his first comments on the crisis in Nicaragua following the arrest of a bishop.
Bishop Rolando Alvarez is a vocal critic of President Daniel Ortega’s government.

Pope Francis called for a “open and sincere” dialogue between the Church and the government on Sunday, following the arrest of a bishop who is a vocal critic of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.

Francis made his first comments on the crisis in the Central American country, where authorities have detained priests and others have gone into exile, while speaking to pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter’s Square for his weekly blessing.

Francis, who did not mention the arrest of Bishop Rolando Alvarez of Matagalpa in the country’s north, said he was watching the situation in Nicaragua “with worry and pain” and asked for prayers for the country.

“I would like to express my conviction and my wish that, through an open and sincere dialogue, the foundations for a respectful and peaceful coexistence can be found,” Francis said.

Alvarez was apprehended in a pre-dawn raid in Matagalpa on Friday and placed under house arrest in Managua.

Alvarez, a critic of Ortega’s government and one of the most powerful figures in the Nicaraguan Church, had been held for two weeks in a Church house in Matagalpa with five priests, one seminarian, and a cameraman for a religious television channel.

According to police, the priests, seminarian, and cameraman were taken to a prison in Managua.

The UN expressed its concern about the raid, and the Organization of American States condemned it.

Since a harsh crackdown on protests in 2018, when the Church acted as a mediator between the government and protesters, the relationship between the Catholic Church and the government has been severely strained.

The Church has demanded justice for more than 360 people who died as a result of the unrest.

Nicaraguan Bishop Silvio Baez, another government critic, went into exile in 2019.

The Vatican protested Nicaragua’s effective expulsion of its ambassador in March, saying the unilateral action was unjustified and incomprehensible.

After the government withdrew its approval of the envoy, Archbishop Waldemar Sommertag, who had been critical of Nicaragua’s slide away from democracy, was forced to leave the country abruptly.

Police shut down seven radio stations linked to Alvarez earlier this month and said they were investigating him for alleged conspiracy.

Pope Francis urges dialogue after bishop’s arrest in Nicaragua

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