Bishop Rolando Alvarez, arrested and placed under house arrest in Nicaragua since August, is “in good healthNicaraguan Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes said Sunday. Bishop Alvarez, critic of the regime, “is in good health, spiritually he is well“and the Church”keep hopeto reach a solution, Archbishop Brenes of Managua told AFP.
“He considers that this is a moment in his career and that he will be able to learn from this experience.“, declared to AFP, Bishop Brenes. Pope Francis “told us that we should keep hopeBishop Brenes continued. “The Holy See takes steps“, he added, without giving further details. Ignoring the outstretched hand of the pope who insisted on the need for “dialogueNicaraguan President Daniel Ortega called the Catholic Church at the end of Septemberperfect dictatorship“.
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Pope Francis insisted on September 15 on the need to “never stop the dialoguewith Nicaragua, where tensions are rising between the state and the Catholic Church. “We spoke with the government. There is a dialogue. It does not mean that we approve of everything the government does. Or that we disapprove of everythingsaid the Argentine pope.
In March, Nicaragua expelled the Vatican ambassador. And in August, Monsignor Rolando Alvarez, a critic of the regime, was arrested and placed under house arrest, according to the police who cited activities “destabilizing and provocativeof the bishop. The European Union and the United States have imposed numerous sanctions on Nicaragua and regime figures over the past four years, citing human rights violations in particular. The EU has also called for the release of more than 200 imprisoned opponents.