Bishop Álvarez freed in Nicaragua, Exiled to Vatican

The regime of Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega freed the imprisoned Bishop Rolando José Álvarez of Matagalpa on Sunday, and expelled the prelate from the country. Álvarez arrived in Vatican City Jan. 14, directly after his release. The bishop had been sentenced to 26 years in prison, and has been a political prisoner in Nicaragua since August 2022, along with 18 other priests and seminarians who were imprisoned in December 2023.