The Pope has shown his concern at the situation of the bishop of Matagalpa (Nicaragua), Rolando Alvarez, who was offered exile by the regime of Daniel Ortega but refused and has been sentenced to 26 years in prison while calling on political leaders to the “sincere search” for peace in that country.
“The news coming from Nicaragua has caused me no little pain. I cannot fail to remember with concern the Bishop of Matagalpa, Rolando Alvarez, whom I love very much, sentenced to 26 years in prison, and the people who have been deported to the USA”, said the Pontiff.
Leaning out of the window of the Apostolic Palace, Francis also condemned the decision to deport several Nicaraguans to the United States. During the Angelus this Sunday, he prayed that “the hearts of political leaders may be opened to the sincere search for peace, which is achieved through dialogue”.
This is not the first decision against the Catholic Church taken by the President of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo.
The Sandinista government condemned four priests, two seminarians, and a deacon in four years.
The Pontiff also asked for prayers for the populations of Syria and Turkey suffering the consequences of the earthquake while recalling the situation in Ukraine, for which he called for solidarity.
Moreover, he urged us to practice a faith that is not “a facade” and not to “close oneself in the suffocated vaults of formal observance”.
“Otherwise – the Pope observed – we remain in an external and detached religiosity, servants of a ‘master god’ instead of children of God the Father”.
With information from LGI