(LifeSiteNews) — Bishop Rolando Alvarez, the outspoken voice against the persecution of Christians by Nicaragua’s Communist dictator Daniel Ortega, was released from prison late Monday, only to be thrown behind bars again Wednesday after negotiations over the terms of his release broke down when he refused to abandon his flock by leaving the country.
Reuters reported that a diplomatic source who requested anonymity said Tuesday that “negotiations between the government and the country’s Catholic bishops were going on over Alvarez’s future, and the prelate was at the Catholic episcopal compound in the capital.”
According to the same source, the bishop — whom the ire of Ortega’s anti-Christian regime has targeted with a vengeance — faced potential expulsion from Nicaragua and exile, a fate imposed by the government on more than 200 political prisoners just a few months ago.
At the time, Bishop Alvarez incited the special animosity of Ortega by refusing to voluntarily leave the country, choosing instead to suffer the oppression of Ortega’s persecution with fellow Christians in Nicaragua. Immediately after his refusal to leave, the bishop was convicted on specious charges of being “a traitor to the country” and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
On Wednesday, July 5, after again refusing to leave Nicaragua, Bishop Alvarez was thrown back behind bars. According to local news outlet Confidencial, negotiations broke down between the Church and Ortega’s government over the terms of Alvarez’s release together with that of other imprisoned priests.
In a press release about Bishop Alvarez, Republican U.S. Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, the Chair of the House Global Human Rights subcommittee, renewed to Nicaragua’s government his request to visit the bishop in prison. Smith chaired a congressional hearing in March calling for pressure to be put on Ortega on account of his extreme anti-Catholic persecution.
In his letter to Ortega, Smith wrote, “I remain very concerned about the safety and wellbeing of Bishop Rolando José Álvarez amid inconsistent reports of his status in Nicaragua, and I renew my request to visit him there.”
“Bishop Álvarez is a compassionate and honorable servant of God’s people who continues to so bravely and selflessly advocate for other innocent victims who are also being persecuted by the brutal Ortega regime, including his brother priests who remain imprisoned.”
“I continue to call for the end of persecution of the Catholic Church by the Nicaraguan state and the immediate release of Bishop Álvarez and all other religious and political prisoners who are unjustly incarcerated.”
The open persecution of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua continues unabated with the re-imprisonment of Bishop Alvarez. In an escalation of attacks on the Church, the government recently froze the bank accounts of several priests, dioceses, religious communities, and schools. Ortega’s government has been condemned internationally for its crimes against Christians and its own citizens — a persecution that is both political and religious in nature — with calls made to put international pressure on the Ortega regime.
While it is clear that Ortega laments the bad press his persecution of the Church and his political enemies receives abroad, his determination to rid Nicaragua of all opposition to his oppressive anti-Christian government seems intent on one goal above all else, that of removing Bishop Alvarez from all influence over the Catholic Church in Nicaragua. As long as this “meddlesome priest” remains in the country, his example of fortitude in the face of imprisonment for the faith continues to bolster Nicaraguan Christians to take a stand against their anti-Christian dictator.