The Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua (CEN) expressed its solidarity with Monsignor Rolando José Álvarez, bishop of the Diocese of Matagalpa and apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Estelí, who began fasting and praying indefinitely since last Thursday night. until the end of the police siege he is suffering.
“We express our solidarity and closeness to our brother Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, who feels anxiety for his personal safety and the possibility of exercising his right to live and celebrate his faith and fulfill his pastoral mission in peace,” reads a statement from the Nicaraguan bishops.
“We are experiencing difficult times as a nation and our duty as a Church is to announce the truth of the Gospel; in communion with the successor of Saint Peter and each bishop of our ecclesiastical province of Nicaragua, together with each priest and all the people of God, ”says the document.
“We accompany – they continue – from prayer to each brother who is associated with the sufferings of Christ and we invoke the Holy Spirit to be the one who illuminates the minds and hearts of all Nicaraguans.”
Communication with Police
The Monsignor has indicated that he will continue to fast — “with water and serum” — until the National Police, “only through the president or vice president of the Episcopal Conference, let me know that they are going to respect my family privacy circle.”
The Bishop of Matagalpa is in charge of the communication area of the CEN and one of the most popular and influential religious in Nicaragua.
According to Álvarez, the CEN has tried to establish communication with the National Police, led by a relative of President Daniel Ortega, to lift the siege against Álvarez, but they have received no response.
In the statement, the Nicaraguan bishops do not mention a word about these conversations with the National Police.
The bishops also do not include, in their text, the situation of the priest Harving Padilla, pastor of the San Juan Bautista church in Masaya, who for a week he has denounced the harassment and surveillance of Sandinista fanatics and police.
This Saturday, the National Police blocked the four streets that converge with the parish in Masaya. According to sources close to the priest, in the area surrounding the church there are approximately 30 officers, who set up checkpoints on every corner and prevent the population from approaching the temple.
