On his ninth day of police kidnapping in the Episcopal Curia of Matagalpa, Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, bishop of the Diocese of that city and apostolic administrator of Estelí, advocated that Nicaraguans find “civic and peaceful solutions” to situations that arise, at a time when the Sandinista regime is carrying out a fierce attack against the Catholic Church in Nicaragua.
“We offer this ninth day in which we are gathered and held in our own Episcopal Curia of Matagalpa so that the Lord grants us Nicaraguans always find ways of civic and peaceful solutions to all our problems and difficulties,” Álvarez said at morning mass. offered this Friday at his residence.
Likewise, the Catholic hierarch prayed so that the families of believers can grow in civic, moral and evangelical values and that non-believers “can form families with ethical values such as peace, justice, fraternity, solidarity, friendship and understanding”.
He also advocated for families to be “builders of that society that we long for.”
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Monsignor Rolando Álvarez sent a brief message after serving nine days of confinement by the Daniel Ortega dictatorship. Details in our account #TikTok. https://t.co/6JNhkI2NOF
– Article 66 (@Article66Nica) August 12, 2022
Álvarez, 55, has been confined along with five priests, three seminarians, and two laymen, in the provincial Episcopal Palace since Thursday, August 4, which is besieged by special police forces.
The bishop, a critic of Ortega, was accused last Friday by the National Police of trying to “organize violent groups,” allegedly “with the purpose of destabilizing the State of Nicaragua and attacking the constitutional authorities.”
The accusation occurred a day after the religious was prevented by the Police from officiating a mass with the parishioners in a parish.
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Solidarity of Monsignor Báez
The auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Managua, Silvio Báez, described this Friday as “kidnapping” the situation experienced by Nicaraguan bishop Rolando Álvarez, whom the National Police accuses of trying to “organize violent groups” and keeps him besieged and held in an Episcopal Palace for nine days.
“I condemn the kidnapping of my brother Msgr. Rolando Álvarez by the Nicaraguan dictatorship,” referring to the government of President Daniel Ortega, Bishop Báez, who has been out of the country for 40 months by decision of the pope, wrote on Twitter. Francis for security reasons.
“I am close to him (Álvarez) with my love and my prayers. It is a light that shines in the darkness, that the darkness will not be able to extinguish (cf. Jn 1,5). He and those who accompany him must be released!” advocated the auxiliary bishop of Managua.
(With information from EFE)
