(CNN Spanish) — Monsignor Rolando Álvarez Lagos, bishop of Matagalpa and one of the most critical religious of the government of President Daniel Ortega, celebrates nine days this Friday under siege by the National Police in the diocesan curia in the city of Matagalpa, 135 kilometers north of Managua. He is accompanied by five priests, three seminarians and two lay people.
After several days of silence and speculation about his possible expulsion from the country, Álvarez, 55, reappeared this Thursday to celebrate a Eucharist that was broadcast on the social networks of his diocese.
During his homily, Álvarez said: “Our 11 lives are in the hands of God. We are in the hands of God. We only want to do his will and we want to give him glory.”
The religious, who is also apostolic administrator of the Estelí diocese, said that they are “retained” in the Chapel of Las Mercedes and expressed: “Thank God (we are) in good health, living in community, as a family, praying, celebrating the Eucharist, sharing among us, dialoguing, conversing, with inner strength, with peace and serenity in the heart”.
The Nicaraguan National Police reported on August 5 that Álvarez is allegedly trying to “organize violent groups, inciting them to carry out acts of hatred against the population, causing an atmosphere of anxiety and disorder, altering the peace and harmony of the community, with the purpose of destabilizing the State of Nicaragua and attacking the constitutional authorities”. In their statement, the Police said that Álvarez and the other people under investigation “will remain in their homes.”
Monsignor Rolando Alvarez Lagos, Bishop of Matagalpa. Source: Diocese of Matagalpa
A day later, Álvarez said he did not know why he was being investigated: “As you all know, yesterday that police statement came out, in which we basically read two things. First, I am being investigated. Well, I don’t know about what, well, they will be making their own conjectures. And second, well, that they have formally said that we have a house for a prison. We are here gathered and held and we are always with the inner strength and peace, and the joy in the heart that the Risen One gives us the joy of the one who tells us: Courage, it’s me, don’t be afraid”.
Álvarez had denounced on August 4 that the Police did not allow him to leave his office to celebrate a mass in the Cathedral. That day there were moments of tension when he went out into the street with the figure of the Blessed Sacrament in his hands and the policemen met him. In the transmission of the digital media of the diocese it was appreciated that several agents remained outside the Episcopal Palace.
In a statement published on Thursday On its social networks, the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (Cenidh) denounced the police measures it considered “repressive” against the bishop and those who accompanied him: “They have denied the entry of food, they have prevented the entry of the person in charge of the kitchen, They have spread terror by spying on the curia with drones, blocking pedestrian traffic in the area, militarizing the city”.
CNN has requested the reaction of the National Police to these complaints and is awaiting a response.
Monsignor Álvarez denounced on May 20 that some police patrols were escorting him during his efforts and that they even entered his family’s residence in Managua. He said that for several days he was sheltered in the Santo Cristo de las Colinas Parish in Managua, on a day of fasting and prayer until he returned to his diocese.
This latest retention was preceded by the closure of seven religious radio stations and two local television channels, managed by the Church in the north of the country. The cancellation was ordered by the Nicaraguan Institute of Telecommunications and Post Office, (Telcor) on the grounds that they did not have transmission permits. The European Union and the United States Department of State condemned the measure and considered it a violation of the freedoms of expression and religion.
The bishop of Matagalpa, who coordinated the media in his diocese, said that in 2016 he had met with the former director of Telcor, Orlando Castillo, and that he had presented him with all the legal documentation to update the situation of the media according to current regulations, but never got a reply.
Telcor ordered in May that subscription television companies cancel the transmission of the Catholic Channel of Nicaragua, which belongs to the Episcopal Conference. The institution did not argue the causes of the measure.
International support for Álvarez
The Mexican Episcopate Conference expressed in a statement on August 8 that: “the Church of Mexico, through its pastors, [manifiesta su] solidarity with the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua for the unfortunate events that they have been experiencing and that have caused suffering and global indignation due to the suspension of individual guarantees, particularly in their fundamental rights such as freedom of expression and religious freedom”.
For its part, the Episcopal Conference of Paraguay condemned “any type of violence, attacks, censorship against the Church,” which it considers “are acts that violate the basic principles of the rule of law.”
The bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Costa Rica expressed “their most sincere solidarity and closeness with the Diocese of Matagalpa, Nicaragua, especially with its pastor, Monsignor Rolando José Álvarez Lagos. Likewise, with the priests, consecrated persons and laity facing the difficult situation that they are living and that each day worsens more”.
The Episcopal Conference of Honduras and the Latin American Episcopal Council (Celam) also expressed solidarity with the Nicaraguan people in the face of the latest events this week.
Background to the conflict
In April 2019, one of the voices most critical of the government, the auxiliary bishop of Managua, Monsignor Silvio José Báez, initially left the country for Rome at the request of Pope Francis, an invitation he said he accepted with “pain and obedience.” Báez said that, according to information from the US embassy. in Managua, there were alleged plans to assassinate him, and he was “shocked” by the situation of violence and human rights violations in the country.
On July 31 of the same year, a fire in a chapel severely damaged the image of the Blood of Christ, the most venerated crucifix in the country, which is more than 380 years old. The National Police said that the event was accidental, but Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, Archbishop of Managua considered it a planned act and Pope Francis, an attack.
Already this year, on March 12, the Holy See reported in a statement that the Government of Nicaragua had withdrawn its approval from the apostolic nuncio, Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag, and urged him to leave the country immediately. In the statement they did not explain the causes, but they thanked the priest for his contributions in the search for solutions to the conflicts in the country and his mediation in the second attempt at national dialogue.
In July, 18 Sisters of Charity were expelled from the country to Costa Rica, reported Monsignor Manuel Eugenio Salazar Mora, bishop of Tilarán, in Guanacaste. The Directorate of Immigration and Immigration of Nicaragua did not report the causes or circumstances of the departure of the nuns and did not respond to queries from independent media.
In addition, the Ministry of the Interior and the National Assembly of Nicaragua canceled the legal status of the Missionaries of Charity Association, which served a home for the elderly, a daycare center, and a home for girls who were victims of violence. The official argument was that they were not authorized to provide these services and that they had failed to comply with regulations. Upon their arrival in Costa Rica, the nuns did not provide a response to these accusations, but they expressed their pain for failing to attend to the sectors they served.
The Archdiocese reported in a statement this Friday that the Police did not authorize – for security reasons – the procession of the Virgin of Fatima scheduled for this Saturday, with which the National Marian Congress concluded.
President Ortega has called the bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua “terrorists”, whom he points out for supporting the 2018 anti-government protests, which the government called an “attempted coup”. According to the IACHR, the demonstrations left 355 dead and hundreds of detainees, although the government recognizes only 200 dead, including police officers.
The bishops acted as mediators in the first attempt at national dialogue in May 2018, with which they sought to find a way out of the country’s sociopolitical crisis.