Another group of exiled Nicaraguan priests arrives in Rome

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Seven priests detained by police and paramilitaries in Nicaragua in early August have been exiled to Rome and arrived safely, the Vatican confirmed.

The seven priests -- belonging to the dioceses of Matagalpa and Estelí -- were among at least 11 priests apprehended Aug. 1 and Aug. 2 and detained in the Seminary of Our Lady of Fatima in Managua, which the government has turned into a detention center for priests in its ongoing arrest of churchworkers.

The Nicaraguan government said Aug. 8 that the seven priests had arrived in Rome, and the Vatican press office confirmed the news Aug. 9.

Vatican News identified the priests as: Fathers Víctor Godoy, Jairo Pravia, Silvio Romero, Edgar Sacasa, Harvin Torres, Ulises Vega and Marlon Velázquez.

Nicaraguan media noted that Father Frutos Valle, the administrator of the Diocese of Estelí, who was detained July 26, was not among the group sent to Rome, Vatican News reported.

Most of the priests are from the Diocese of Matagalpa whose head, Bishop Rolando Álvarez, was arrested in August 2022 and spent more than 500 days in custody before being exiled to Rome in January along with Bishop Isidoro Mora of Siuna and more than a dozen priests.

The deportation of the priests in August marked the fifth time Nicaragua has exiled groups of priests: In October 2022 and February 2023 several priests were sent to the United States along with dozens of political prisoners; and in October 2023 and January 2024, two other groups of priests were sent to Rome.

While apparently not under any restrictions, the Nicaraguan bishops and priests in Rome have kept a low profile.

At the end of his Angelus address Jan. 1, Pope Francis publicly expressed his concern about what was happening in Nicaragua.

"I have been following with deep concern what is happening in Nicaragua, where bishops and priests have been deprived of their freedom," he said. "I express to them, to their families and to the entire church in the country my closeness in prayer."

And he asked Catholics around the world "to pray insistently, while I hope that the path of dialogue is always sought to overcome difficulties. Let us pray for Nicaragua today."