Under President Daniel Ortega, incidents against the Catholic church have included arson, harassment and the arrest of clergy.

This crackdown reflects the Ortega regime's broader strategy to silence dissenting voices, particularly those within the Church, which has been one of the government's most outspoken critics.

In August 2024, the Nicaraguan government took further steps to dismantle civil society by revoking the legal status of 1,500 non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

There are 678 Catholic and evangelical NGOs in the group that have been closed, including the diocesan Caritas of Matagalpa, a Catholic charity known for its extensive humanitarian work.

The government justified this move by claiming that these NGOs failed to meet financial reporting requirements. However, critics argue this is part of a systematic effort to eliminate opposition.

The assets of these shuttered organisations have been transferred to the state, raising concerns about the government's increasing control over civil society.

Clergy forced to leave

The Catholic Church, particularly in the Diocese of Matagalpa, has been a primary target of the Ortega regime.

In early August, two more priests were exiled from the country, joining a growing list of clergy forced to leave Nicaragua under duress.

The exiled priests had been under house arrest before their expulsion, part of a broader crackdown that has seen religious leaders detained, held incommunicado and forced into exile.

Bishop Rolando Álvarez is among those exiled. Álvarez is a prominent critic of Ortega and was sentenced to 26 years in prison before being forced to leave Nicaragua in February 2023.

The regime's actions, including the church attacks, have drawn sharp criticism from the international community, with human rights organisations and religious freedom advocates calling for increased pressure on Nicaragua. There have been calls for targeted sanctions against Nicaraguan officials responsible for these human rights violations.

The Vatican, which has seen its diplomatic relations with Nicaragua deteriorate sharply, has also condemned the ongoing persecution of the Church. Closing the Vatican's nunciature in Managua in March 2023 marked a low point in relations between the Holy See and the Ortega regime.

Sources

Catholic News Agency

Vatican News

Catholic News Agency

CathNews New Zealand

Nine priests and a deacon were detained on Aug 1 and 2 — with some taken from parishes and parish residences — according to independent Nicaragua media. An octogenarian priest was also detained on July 27 in the Diocese of Estelí, where Bishop Álvarez is the apostolic administrator.

"The Diocese of Matagalpa practically no longer has any clergy. We've been expelled, pressured and forced to flee. Parishes are on their own," an exiled priest familiar with the diocese told OSV News.

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The diplomatic source said on Tuesday that negotiations between the government and the country's Catholic bishops were going on over Alvarez's future, and the prelate was at the Catholic episcopal compound in the capital.

The source, who declined to be identified, added that talks included the possibility that the bishop might be expelled from the Central American country or otherwise sent into exile.

The government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday's release of Alvarez after normal business hours.

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The independent media reported on June 2 that according to sources with ties to the diocese, the donation of $563,206 was legally made on June 14, 2012, to Estelí Caritas when Abelardo Mata was diocesan bishop.

The charity, whose legal personhood was cancelled by the National Assembly on Feb 7, 2022, agreed to a "total donation" of the money to the Diocese of Estelí, whose apostolic administrator is Bishop Rolando Álvarez.

The prelate was unjustly sentenced in February to 26 years and four months in prison, charged with treason by the regime.

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The prelate, who refused to be deported along with 222 other political prisoners sent to the United States in a deal with the US State Department on Feb 9, is supposedly in a maximum security cell in the "La Modelo" prison.

However, his actual whereabouts are unclear.

"The physical and mental health conditions of Bishop Rolando Álvarez are unknown," Nicaraguan lawyer and researcher Martha Patricia Molina told ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, in a March 7 statement.

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The sentencing of Bishop Rolando Álvarez (pictured) occurred just a day after President Daniel Ortega criticised the bishop for refusing to leave the country with other political prisoners.

Bishop Álvarez, of the central city of Matagalpa, had been under house arrest and was set to go on trial next week. However, he was taken to prison after he refused to board a plane to the US with 222 other political prisoners. The Biden administration agreed to receive the released prisoners.

The bishop, an outspoken critic of Ortega, had called for electoral reforms and free democratic elections in Nicaragua. Ortega referred to the bishop as "out of his mind" and arrogant in a speech. Ortega also claimed Álvarez had refused to obey the state's decisions.

The sentence is the longest given to any of Ortega's opponents since the 2021 presidential election.

Ortega, a former Marxist guerrilla leader, has been in power since 2007 and controls Nicaragua's electoral authority, National Assembly, Supreme Court and all of the country's municipalities.

Relations between the Catholic church, a powerful institution in Nicaragua, and the Ortega government have deteriorated since the 2018 protests in which over 300 people were killed, mostly by government security forces.

Pope Francis concerned

Pope Francis on Sunday spoke of his concern over the imprisonment of Bishop Álvarez in his weekly blessing to pilgrims and tourists in St Peter's Square. "The news from Nicaragua has grieved me not a little and I cannot help but remember with concern the Bishop of Matagalpa, Monsignor Rolando Alvarez, whom I love so much and who has been sentenced to 26 years in prison, and also the people who have been taken to the United States," Pope Francis said.

The Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights called the verdict the "reaffirmation of the total destruction of the rule of law in Nicaragua." It warned that the bishop's life and security were in danger.

The US State Department condemned the stripping of the bishop's citizenship and called for his release, while Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasised the importance of constructive dialogue with Nicaragua.

Sources

The Wall Street Journal

US News

CathNews New Zealand

Bishop Rolando Álvarez, who serves as the radio's coordinator and leads the remote northern Matagalpa diocese, announced the closures on Monday.

Álvarez said he had received a letter from the state telecommunications agency Telcor informing him of the closures.

"All our radio stations have been closed, but they will not cancel the word of God" Álvarez said on Twitter.

The Nicaraguan telecommunications agency said the radio stations did not meet the technical requirements to be on air. However, Telcor did not specify what those requirements were.

Álvarez called the move "an injustice" and urged Telcor's director to show the legality.

Relations between the Catholic Church and the Ortega government have deteriorated since 2018, when there were sustained protests against the president's rule and a subsequent crackdown by the government.

Ortega has maintained that the protests in 2018 were an attempt to forcibly remove him from office with international backing. His government has systematically pursued opposition figures and organisations viewed as critics.

Bishop Álvarez has been one of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega's most outspoken critics in the church. He has called for the release of prisoners, including political opposition leaders. Earlier this year, he went on a hunger strike to protest what he called "police persecution" against him.

Álvarez said that police had occupied the parish house in Sebaco, where one of the radio stations operated. Sebaco is about 65 miles north of the country's capital, Managua.

The Matagalpa diocese denounced the occupation in a statement. It said the parish priest, Rev Uriel Vallejos, also a government critic, was inside the house.

Videos shared on social media showed Nicaraguan police firing tear gas and shots into the air on Monday night before taking control of the parish and the radio station.

Vallejo took refuge in the parish house and, as of Tuesday morning, was still locked inside with eight accompanying parishioners, according to a tweet sent by the priest.

Sources

• Reuters
• NewsMax