Nicaragua: Another bishop arrested – Vatican News

Vatican News

Nicaraguan police arrested the Bishop of Siona, Dom Isidoro del Carmen Mora Ortega, on Wednesday, December 20. He is the second bishop detained in the country, after Dom Rolando José Álvarez of Lagos, Bishop of Matagalpa and apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Estelí, who was sentenced to 26 years in prison without due process on charges of conspiracy and spreading false news. Obstruction of justice and contempt of authorities. He has been in prison since last February, after being under house arrest since August 2022.

According to reports, police and paramilitary forces arrested Dom Mora “on his way to celebrate his confirmation in the Diocese of La Cruz de Rio Grande.” Alongside him, “seminarians Alastair Sainz and Toni Palacio were also arrested.” At this time, the whereabouts of the three men are unknown.

Dom Isidoro Mora

He was arrested after praying for Dom Alvarez

According to the country's independent press, which cites church sources, the origin of the arrest of the Bishop of Siona is the sermon delivered by Dom Mora on December 20 in the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle. On this occasion, the Bishop reported that the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua continues to pray for Dom Álvarez. “We are always united in prayer for our beloved Diocese of Matagalpa, we pray for Dom Rolando and for each one of you,” Dom Mora said. He concluded: “We are united in prayer, in fellowship, in faith, in love, in tenderness.”

Dom Isidoro Mora

A country moving further away from the rule of law

In recent days, the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Nada Al-Nashif, announced that Nicaragua is moving “further and farther away” from the rule of law, and especially from “fundamental freedoms, exacerbating people’s suffering, fueling the exodus of young people and undermining the future of democratic institutions.” Then He denounced the fact that the authorities in Managua continue to “persecute those who can contribute an alternative vision to the public sphere, such as political and indigenous leaders, members of the Catholic Church, activists and journalists.” In this context, he stressed that “restrictions on civic space continue, with repeated cases of arrest.” arbitrary action against those exercising their fundamental freedoms.”