“I don’t want a new martyr bishop in Latin America”: With these words, Pope Francis ordered Managua’s auxiliary bishop Silvio Baez into exile a few years ago. Only reluctantly and “in a spirit of obedience” did the prominent critic of the Sandinista regime leave his native Nicaragua at the end of April 2019. The decision made his “heart cry,” said Baez at the time, who didn’t want to be intimidated by ongoing death threats.
From Miami in the USA he now has to watch helplessly as a drastic example is made of a colleague in office: On Friday, Rolando Alvarez, Bishop of Matagalpa, was sentenced to 26 years and four months in prison in summary proceedings. The judge in charge in Managua called Alvarez a “traitor to the country” who was guilty of “disobedience”, undermining national security and spreading “fake news”. In addition to the prison sentence, the 56-year-old was stripped of his Nicaraguan citizenship and civil rights. He will now be in detention until April 13, 2049 and will have to pay a fine, the court said.
New level of escalation between state and church
The conflict between state and church in Nicaragua has thus reached a new level of escalation; Baez accused the Sandinistas of “irrational and unrestrained hatred” via Twitter after the verdict was announced. But how did it come to this? Just a few days ago it looked as if Alvarez – after months of arrest – was within reach of freedom. The Holy See, the US and Spain had tried to get him and other dissidents released.
With success: On Thursday, a charter plane was made available that flew more than 200 political prisoners from Nicaragua to the United States. Also on board were opposition politicians, priests and student leaders – practically all well-known opponents of ruler Daniel Ortega. Former presidential candidate Felix Maradiaga also chose to go into exile. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke of a constructive step that opens up the opportunity for a new dialogue. Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares announced that he would offer Spanish citizenship to those who were deported.
Bishop Alvarez refused to flee
But Alvarez was not on the passenger list. As it became known from those around him, he refused to board the plane. He decided to stay to help the Central American country’s Catholics who were suffering under dictatorial repression. The head of state reacted angrily and had the bishop taken back from the airport to police custody. In a public speech, Ortega berated the cleric for resisting the ordered expulsion. The draconian verdict followed a few hours later.
Alvarez was placed under house arrest in August. Since then, his fate has attracted international attention. A picture of him on his knees asking God for mercy for armed police officers went around the world. Numerous other priests were arrested with him at the time. Like him, they had repeatedly openly denounced the prevailing conditions in Nicaragua.
reluctance of the Pope
Such statements are dangerous in the bitterly poor country. Again and again, critics of the regime suffer “tragic traffic accidents”, mysterious heart attacks or they suddenly disappear – and never appear again. There are no serious investigations into such cases, nor is there an independent judiciary. The Argentine pope knows this, which is why he took the threats against Auxiliary Bishop Baez seriously and withdrew him from Managua.
The head of the church is conspicuously reluctant to publicly criticize the Ortega regime – probably to keep the remaining diplomatic channels open. So far, there has been no statement from the Vatican on Alvarez’s conviction. Baez, on the other hand, uses social media to verbally shoot at the Sandinistas: “They didn’t condemn him, they condemned themselves.” He defiantly adds: “Rolando will be free, God will not abandon him.”