Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa has been released from prison and sent into exile — along with 18 other churchmen who had been imprisoned — as Nicaragua’s government expelled its most prominent critic. Auxiliary Bishop Silvio José Báez of Managua — who left the country in 2019 — also confirmed the news at his weekly Mass in Miami, and was visibly moved. "This is the power of the people of God’s prayers," he said. "The criminal Sandinista dictatorship of (President) Daniel Ortega has not been able to defeat the power of God." With the exception of one priest who remained in Venezuela, all released priests, including Bishop Álvarez and Bishop Isidoro Mora of Siuna, have arrived in Rome and are guests of the Holy See. They spent over 500 days in jail, and at times their whereabouts was uncertain. The church authorities in Nicaragua deeply thanked Pope Francis and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, for the very respectful and discreet coordination carried out to make possible the Vatican trip of two bishops, fifteen priests and two seminarians.
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