Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando Álvarez and 18 priests arrive in Rome from prison, guests of Vatican

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Vatican says Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando Álvarez and 18 Catholic clergy members from the Latin American country have arrived in Rome and are guests of the Holy See. The Nicaraguan government said it released the group on Sunday from jail and handed them over to Vatican authorities. In the past, imprisoned priests have been quickly flown to Rome. Bishop Álvarez has remained in prison for more than a year and received a 26-year sentence after refusing to get on a February flight to the United States. President Daniel Ortega’s government has systematically silenced opposing voices and zeroed in on the church since repressing popular protests in 2018 that called for his resignation.