What did Rolando Alvarez do? Pope Francis expresses concern over Nicaragua bishop’s 26-year sentence

In August 2022, Nicaraguan diocesan member Rolando Alvarez was arrested by police on the orders of President Daniel Ortega.

Ortega sought the arrest of Rolando Alvarez, 56, and placed him in prison over the diocesan authority’s open analysis of the president’s dubious system of tyranny in Nicaragua.

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Pope Francis, who appeared calm following the lockdown of the diocese, was vocal on Sunday, February 12, 2022, expressing his concerns about Alvarez’s imprisonment after he was sentenced to over 26 years in prison.

Pope Francis, who expressed unhappiness at seeing Minister Rolando Alvarez’s verdict, spoke to government authorities in Nicaragua to find a quiet target after Ortega’s crackdown on the Catholic Church, which led to the arrest of some clergy in the country.

Ortega blames the Catholic Church for the 2018 struggles against his dictatorship system that sacked 300 people in Nicaragua. He accepts that the Catholic Church, an institution exempt from state intercession, has fomented discord against his dictates and has since ousted Catholic nuns and preachers from the country.

Rolando Alvarez was arrested and charged after failing to travel to the US from Nicaragua last week
On Friday, February 10, 2023, Nicaraguan cleric Rolando Alvarez was charged with conspiracy to undermine public sincerity and spread false words and was sentenced to 26 years in prison after the diocesan, with 222 different inmates, failed to travel to who came to the United States were also detained for loudly rebuking President Daniel Ortega.

According to Reuters, the pope’s remarks about the capture of Alvarez for his weekly gift to travelers and holidaymakers were remembered in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. He had said:

“The report from Nicaragua has saddened me a bit and I cannot resist the memorable urge with concern that I love so much, Diocesan of Matagalpa, Monsignor Rolando Alvarez, who has been sentenced to 26 years in prison, and also people who were brought to the United States.”

The Ortega-Murillo regime #Nicaragua has sentenced Bishop Rolando Alvarez of Matagalpa to 26 years and 4 months in prison for committing acts that “undermine the independence, sovereignty and self-determination of the people”. These lies will never overcome justice. pic.twitter.com/pZkE2BL0MO

— Ms. Manuel Dorantes (@TweetingPriest) February 10, 2023

According to an unidentified source who contacted Related Press, Alvarez would not travel to the US because he accepted he had done nothing unusual by rebelling against the public authority notorious for restricting free discourse check.

The pope’s comments come a year after Ortega, who accepted the congregation postponed fighting his government in 2018, chided the Catholic Church, calling it a “wonderful tyranny” for not allowing individuals to elect the pope .

In a speech aired last year, Ortega called ministers “executioners” who are working with the US to overthrow his government.

Meanwhile, Nicaraguan concerns have grown as Ortega continues to silence his opponents and escalates his efforts to establish a dictatorship system.