SW News: ADF International has filed a petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on behalf of Nicaraguan bishop Rolando Álvarez. Bishop Álvarez of the Catholic Diocese of Matagalpa was unjustly convicted of undermining national integrity for his sermons denouncing the human rights violations perpetrated by the Nicaraguan government against the Catholic Church, its faithful, and the people generally.
He was barred from celebrating Mass, imprisoned in his residence, and later arrested and held in prison without being offered a reason. The Bishop subsequently was charged and convicted in a sham trial he did not know was occurring for sermons denouncing the Nicaraguan regime’s human rights violations, and imprisoned for 26 years.
ADF International brought this case before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights because there are no effective avenues for legal recourse available in Nicaragua. The bishop has been denied access to family members and legal counsel, and it's assumed that he's being detained in solitary confinement.
Kristina Hjelkrem, the Bishop's attorney, said those concerned with basic human rights should be outraged by the crisis endured by people of faith in Nicaragua.
Hjelkrem said the bishop has been wrongfully convicted and sentenced to 26 years in prison for simply carrying out his responsibilities as a bishop and preaching the teachings of Christ and the Catholic Church. His right to freedom of expression and right as a pastor to preach his faith are both violated. He said that they are looking forward to securing justice for Bishop Álvarez, and hopefully, an end to religious persecution in Nicaragua. “No one should be persecuted or imprisoned for sharing their faith,” he added.
Nicaragua has been in turmoil since the beginning of the year when widespread anti-government protests and civil disturbances first broke out. The Ortega administration attacked Catholic institutions and universities, non-profit organizations, media outlets, and leaders of religious orders and places of worship to discredit the Catholic Church. This is despite the Church having been asked to act as a mediator in the process of a national conversation between the dictatorship and the opposition.
The Catholic Church in Nicaragua has spoken out in response to the government's unfriendly actions, charging it with religious persecution. "They are persecuting the Church for its prophetic mission, because it is the only one capable of denouncing their ongoing violations of human rights, forgetting that when they persecute the Church, in the person of its servants, the bishops, the priests, and the laity, it is Christ himself whom they are persecuting," the Estel clergy wrote in a letter.
Pope Francis has denounced the persecution of Bishop Alvarez and the Church in Nicaragua while extending an invitation to all parties involved to engage in an open dialogue for coexistence.