Nicaragua government releases two bishops and 18 priests, who were arrested amid the region's crackdown on religious leaders, following negotiations with the Vatican.
The announcement on Sunday involved Bishops Rolando Alvarez of Matagalpa and Isidoro del Carmen Mora Ortega of Siuna. The other individuals who were released included 15 priests and two seminarians.
They were all imprisoned over the last few years after a court, in most cases, accused them of supporting a plot in 2018. It supposedly attempted to overthrow President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo's regime.
Alvarez, in particular, was sentenced to more than 26 years in prison, stripped of his citizenship, and declared a traitor last February. He allegedly undermined national security and was charged with the "propagation of false news." On the other hand, authorities arrested Bishop Mora in December last year.
The Nicaraguan government issued a statement noting that Vatican authorities received the clergy members "in compliance with Agreements of Good Faith and Goodwill, which seek to promote understanding and improve communication between the Holy See and Nicaragua, for Peace and Good," as per Fox News.
The Vatican's in-house media operation, Vatican News, confirmed that all of the clergy members in question, except one who remained in Venezuela, arrived in Roma on Sunday. They were said to be now "guests of the Holy See."
During the Angelus at the beginning of this year, Pope Francis said that the bishops and priests who were arrested were "deprived of their freedom" in Nicaragua. The religious leader added that he hoped the path of dialogue would always be sought to overcome difficulties ahead.
Officials from the United States have long accused Ortega's administration of crimes against humanity for waging war against religious freedom and civil liberties. Both the Trump and Biden administrations and several members of Congress passed measures to sanction financial lifelines to the nation's government.
Negotiations With the Vatican
The pope also spoke about the situation on Jan. 8, arguing that the situation in Central America "remains troubling." Referring to the release of the prisoners, the Nicaraguan government said that their freedom was brought about with the help of "frank, direct, prudent, and very serious dialogue," according to Crux Now.
The situation comes as Nicaragua and the Holy See do not currently hold diplomatic ties after the former severed relations in April of last year. That decision followed the ousting of the Vatican's envoy in the region, which prompted the Holy See to close its embassy.
Alvarez's arrest in August 2022 came after he announced a hunger strike in protest of police harassment. He is seen as one of the Nicaraguan government's most vocal critics in the region's church.
Nicaragua also released a dozen Catholic priests in October after they were jailed over a variety of charges and they were then sent to Rome following an agreement with the Vatican.
The nation's Congress, which Ortega's Sandinista National Liberation Front dominates, has ordered the closure of more than 3,000 non-governmental organizations, including Mother Teresa's charity, said the Associated Press.
