Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), co-chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today issued the following statement on the reported arrest of Catholic Bishop Rolando José Álvarez in Nicaragua:

            “The arrest of Bishop Rolando José Álvarez—the Catholic Bishop of Matagalpa  who was taken from his residence in an early morning raid on August 19—is just one of the latest manifestations of the Nicaraguan government’s ongoing campaign of repression against the Church and its faithful priests and laity. 

            Since August 4, Álvarez had been held under unlawful house arrest for speaking out against the egregious human rights abuses being perpetrated by the Ortega regime and the recent closure of seven Catholic radio stations that had denounced the hostile government for its thuggery. 

            Bishop Álvarez bravely countered the regime’s assaults and lies with a commitment to respond ‘to hate with love, despair with hope, and fear with strength and courage….’ Adding to Bishop Alvarez’s response, there must be no impunity for Ortega, as justice requires accountability for his unconscionable crimes against his own people.

            A recent report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) on the state of religious freedom in Nicaragua underscores the extent to which the regime of Daniel Ortega is systematically waging war against the Catholic Church. Tragically, the USCIRF report shows that the situation has only gotten worse since last year, when I chaired a congressional hearing on the human cost of Ortega’s repression in Nicaragua.

            It is my hope that Pope Francis will raise his voice in defense of the Church in Nicaragua and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will speak up with even greater clarity in solidarity with a brother bishop.”

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