Standing Up for Nicaragua| National Catholic Register

Standing Up for Nicaragua| National Catholic Register: 

Standing Up for Nicaragua

A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER: As the Ortega regime attempts to dismantle Catholicism in the country, Bishop Rolando Álvarez’s imprisonment represents the pinnacle of why the world needs to care and governments need to act now.

Michael Warsaw Publisher's NoteSeptember 30, 2023

It was seven months ago that the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo, in Nicaragua sentenced Bishop Rolando Álvarez Lagos of Matagalpa to 26 years and four months in prison, charging him with being a “traitor to the homeland.”

That outrageous attack on religious freedom and, more specifically, the Catholic Church in Nicaragua drew international media coverage and widespread condemnation. Today, however, the exact whereabouts of Bishop Álvarez are unknown, and some people question whether he is even still alive. Meanwhile, the regime’s persecution of the Church continues unabated. 

These recent acts of aggression demonstrate how ineffective the United States and the international community have been so far in pressuring the Ortega government to change course. And Catholic priests and faithful citizens and religious groups in Nicaragua are paying a heavy price for that failure.

Consider some of the events that have taken place in just the last four months. 

Standing Up for Nicaragua| National Catholic Register: