61 Nicaraguan opposition organizations asked Pope Francis to advocate for the personal freedom of Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, on whom the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega imposed the Episcopal Curia of the Diocese of Matagalpa as a “de facto prison.”
A week has passed since the Ortega police have besieged the Curia, preventing the exit of Monsignor Alvarez and 10 more people, between priests and laity.
In a letter sent to the Vaticanthe organizations explain to Pope Francis that “we desperately write on our behalf but, above all, we do so on behalf of tens of thousands of Nicaraguans who -within the territory of Nicaragua live under constant anxiety and threats for fear of reprisals- will not be able to affix their signatures to this document.
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They also stated that they feel “moved and outraged” by the recent events in Matagalpa, where “we saw the feast day of San Juan María Vianney in which Monsignor Rolando José Álvarez, (…) appears surrounded by police officers National kneeling with the Blessed Sacrament in custody in his hands after being prevented from entering the temple to celebrate the religious services of that day.
The Nicaraguan organizations also expressed that they fear “for what may happen” to the Catholic leader, after the announcement by the Police at the service of the Ortega-Murillo regime, which ordered to open an “investigation” against Monsignor Álvarez, for allegedly ” organize violent groups” and incite them to carry out “acts of hate to” destabilize the State of Nicaragua.
Similarly, they recalled the attack directed against Father Uriel Vallejos, in the municipality of Sébaco, Matagalpa. The priest remained isolated for three days “in the parish house of Jesús de la Divina Misericordia de Sébaco, also surrounded by police and paramilitary forces related to the government.”
Father Vallejos managed to leave the temple together with the parishioners who accompanied him thanks to the efforts of a group of religious.
They highlighted that the police deployment in Sébaco took place on August 1st, with the aim of “taking over the equipment of the parish radio station, which together with other radio stations operated by the Catholic Church in different municipalities of the department of Matagalpa they had been closed by government orders.”
They added that “the presence of the faithful prevented them from appropriating the radio equipment, but many were beaten, wounded and arrested when the Police imposed force around the church. The cry of Father Vallejos since his confinement still resounds in our ears and our hearts: “Don’t leave me alone.”
Impunity reigns in Nicaragua
In the letter sent to His Holiness, the opposition organizations exposed to Pope Francis the various abuses and violations of human rights that the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega has committed against the people of Nicaragua. In addition, they denounced the escalation of repression against the Nicaraguan Catholic Church and the deprivation of liberty of the 190 opponents who are imprisoned by orders of the regime.
The entities highlighted that “impunity prevails in Nicaragua and the regime has plunged the country into a de facto state of exception.”
Therefore, they fear “for the life of Monsignor Álvarez, also for the lives of most of the innocent political prisoners. They are already two brothers who die while in jail in the hands of the regime. Let’s not let one more die.”
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«The persecution and hatred of the regime against the Catholic Church have no justification. Their pastors have only complied with the commandment of love and comfort to the weakest and most oppressed. Its bishops are accused of being accomplices in an attempted coup, when in reality what they have done is seek a peaceful and democratic solution to the deep crisis that is consuming the country, “they stressed.
“Your Holiness Francisco, for all the above and all the pain experienced in Nicaragua, we beg you, we implore you:” Do not leave us alone. Don’t leave us alone right now. Listen to our word”, they concluded.
The letter is signed by the Articulation of Social Movements, SOS Nicaragua delegations around the world, associations of political prisoners, as well as the Anticanal Movement.
