Lula will intercede for the release of Bishop Álvarez with the Nicaraguan President
“The Church has a problem in Nicaragua because there are bishops who are in prison. The only thing the Church wants is for Nicaragua to release the bishop (Rolando Álvarez) so that he can go to Italy."
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazilian President, spoke about the imprisonment of Bishop Álvarez, Bishop of Matagalpa, and offered to intercede for his release with his Nicaraguan counterpart, Daniel Ortega.
“The Church has a problem in Nicaragua because there are bishops who are in prison. The only thing the Church wants is for Nicaragua to release the bishop (Rolando Álvarez) so that he can go to Italy," he said after meeting Pope Francis at the Vatican.
“I want to talk to Daniel Ortega about the release of the bishop,” he added Lula. According to him, "there is no reason" for the religious "to be prevented from exercising his function in the Church". "I will try to help, if I can help".
Media Associated Press specifies that Lula is the first president to intercede in favor of Monsignor Álvarez, who was sentenced last February to 26 years of imprisonment for "conspiracy and spreading false news". He then refused to be extradited to the United States with more than 200 other opponents released by the government.
According to the Vatican representative, Monsignor Miroslaw Wachowski, "the unjust imprisonment of Monsignor Rolando Álvarez" is a "remarkable example" of the crisis in Nicaragua.
MC
