More than 72 hours have passed since the police laid siege to the Nicaraguan prelate.

Newsroom (09/08/2022 2:30 PM Gaudium Press) This is not a fake movie script, even if it seems so.

Scene 1- The day before yesterday morning: Bishop Rolando Alvarez, Bishop of Matagalpa and Apostolic Administrator of Estelí, Nicaragua, tries to leave the Curia to celebrate Mass in the Cathedral. He finds it belted by police, which prevents him from attending. He asked that the Blessed Sacrament be brought to him and, with some faithful, began adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the street. The Bishop kneels before the persecutors.

Scene 2- Yesterday at noon: Once again, the Bishop wants to leave the Curia, still besieged. He is not allowed, so he declares himself a de facto prisoner in his house. The Bishop then decides to celebrate Mass inside and broadcast the Eucharist on the diocese’s Social Media.

Scene 3- The Bishop has to carry out all his pastoral work online, followed by people from all over the world.

The truth is that since Wednesday noon, the Bishop and his servants have been surrounded by about 50 police officers. On Monday, the Bp. Alvarez challenged the Ortega regime to prove the order’s legitimacy to close six radio stations in the diocese. Critics, meanwhile, accused the dictatorial government of acting in a Bolshevik style while rejecting accountability. 

Pre-scenes: Since the beginning of May, the police have begun a fresh wave of repression against priests like Fr. Harving Padilla, pastor of St John the Baptist in Masaya, and Fr Uriel Vallejos, a parish priest in Sébaco, Matagalpa.

Final scene: Still in progress. Meanwhile, Bp. Alvarez warns defiantly: “Jesus Christ is ”the Lord of Nicaragua,’ not Ortega or Rosario Murillo.”

Compiled by Gustavo Kralj