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Nicaragua releases 12 Catholic priests and sends them to Rome, following agreement with the Vatican
MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Vatican confirmed Thursday that the Holy See had been asked to receive the 12 priests who had been recently released
Roman Catholic Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes presides over Sunday's mass at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Managua, Nicaragua, Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023. Pope Francis expressed sadness and worry at the news that Bishop Roland Alvarez, an outspoken critic of the Nicaraguan government, had been sentenced to 26 years in prison. (AP Photo/Inti Ocon)
Associated Press
October 19, 2023

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Nicaragua has released 12 Roman Catholic priests jailed on a variety of charges and sent them to Rome following an agreement reached with the Vatican, the Nicaraguan government said in a statement late Wednesday.

The government of President Daniel Ortega said that the priests were flown to Rome Wednesday afternoon following productive talks with the Vatican. Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, the church’s top figure in Nicaragua, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Vatican confirmed Thursday that the Holy See had been asked to receive the 12 priests who had been recently released. It said they would be taken in and housed in various structures belonging to the diocese of Rome.


The Nicaraguan government said the deal showed “the permanent will and commitment to find solutions.”

Bishop Rolando Álvarez was not among the names of the priests listed. Álvarez was convicted of conspiracy and sentenced in February to 26 years in prison shortly after Ortega’s government sent 222 prisoners to the United States in a deal brokered by the U.S. government.

Álvarez had refused to get on that flight. Nicaragua’s government later stripped those prisoners of their citizenship.

Ortega’s government has aggressively pursued the Catholic church in recent years. Ortega has maintained that the church aided popular protests against his administration in April 2018 that he considered an attempted coup.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
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