Independent news article: “Has the Vatican silenced Bishop Rolondo Alvarez?” »

CV NEWS FEED // Since a Vatican-brokered deal allowed his early release after a 26-year prison sentence earlier this year, Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando Alvarez has remained eerily silent, leading to speculation that this could be at the request of the pontiff.

In a May 5 article, the independent Cuban media Havana Times observed that the characteristically outspoken bishop has been incognito since his release in January, further speculating that Pope Francis may be behind it.

Archbishop Álvarez recently received the 2024 Libertas Prize from the Principality of Asturias, in recognition of his defense against the authoritarian regime of Ortega. However, Havana Times pointed out, the bishop “responded in the same way he has responded since he was banished from his country and sent to the Vatican on January 14, 2024 – with complete and utter silence.”

Widely known as a symbol of resistance, Bishop Alvarez has regularly spoken out against the Ortega dictatorship, condemning the mass persecution of the Catholic Church and other human rights violations.

In August 2022, the Ortega regime placed Archbishop Alvarez under house arrest in the Matagalpa curia, then in Managua, for alleged “destabilizing and provocative activities.” Famously, recalls the Cuban media, the photos of Mgr. Álvarez kneeling in the street with his crozier, blessing the policeman, went viral.

After refusing to board a plane bound for the United States, along with 221 other priests, deacons and religious, the Ortega regime sentenced Archbishop Alvarez to 26 years in prison, for alleged “treason.”

In the days leading up to his release in January, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) called La Modelo, the prison where the bishop spent more than 500 days, “Ortega’s Gulag.” The Vatican announced on January 14 that it had successfully negotiated the release of Archbishop Alvarez, as well as another bishop, fifteen priests and two seminarians.

Bishop Alvarez, the Havana Times noted, has remained silent since.

“Ortega and Murillo never succeeded in silencing Rolando Alvarez or asking him for forgiveness during his incarceration,” the outlet said, concluding: “So far, however, it appears that the pope has been able to do this what Ortega was able to do. “t: silence Rolando Alvarez.