Central America

Nicaragua frees 12 priests and sends them to the Vatican

Photo: DW

October 19 |

The government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega reached a reconciliation agreement with the Vatican to release 12 priests and send them directly to Rome.

The statement noted that the priests, prosecuted for different causes, left Wednesday afternoon for Rome and will be received there by the Vatican Secretariat of State.

According to an official communiqué, “the Government of Reconciliation and National Unity of the Republic of Nicaragua after holding fruitful conversations with the Holy See” managed to send a total of 12 priests prosecuted for various crimes to Rome so that they can be received at the Vatican.

In said communiqué they clarified that the priests sent to Rome are Manuel Salvador García Rodríguez, José Leonardo Urbina Rodríguez, Jaime Iván Montesinos Sauceda, Fernando Israel Zamora Silva, Osman José Amador Guillén, Julio Ricardo Norori Jiménez, Cristóbal Reynaldo Gadea Velásquez, Álvaro José Toledo Amador, José Iván Centeno Tercero, Pastor Eugenio Rodríguez Benavidez, Yessner Cipriano Pineda Meneses and Ramón Angulo Reyes.

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“This agreement reached with the intercession of high authorities of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua and in the Vatican, represents the permanent will and commitment to find solutions,” the text added.

For the moment, the Ortega government has not reached an agreement with the Vatican to transfer the Catholic bishop of Matagalpa, Monsignor Rolando Alvarez, who was accused of conspiracy and sentenced to 26 years in prison.

It is worth noting that Alvarez was granted an amnesty by the Nicaraguan government and was to be transferred by plane to the United States, however the priest refused.

Related Topics:Central America Nicaragua

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