Rector of Nicaragua's Matagalpa Seminary arrested

Nicaragua's authorities arrest the rector of Matagalpa Seminary, also parish priest of Santa María de Guadalupe church. Fr. Jarvin Tórrez has been in prison since 5 August according to human rights activists and organisations who have also reported the detention of a lay collaborator, Lesbia Rayo Balmaceda, from a parish in Sébaco.

Vatican News

Authorities in Nicaragua arrested another priest on 5 August in the nation's Diocese of Matagalpa. Father Jarvin Tórrez, the rector of San Luis Gonzaga Major Seminary of Philosophy and parish priest of Santa María de Guadalupe church, in the district of Guanuca, Matagalpa, was taken to prison according to parishioners' reports to the media. Human rights activists and organisations in the country, quoted by the national daily "La prensa" have denounced the priest's detention. They also reported that a lay collaborator of a parish church in Sébaco, Lesbia Rayo Balmaceda, was also detained.

Thirteen priests have already been imprisoned in the span of one week in Nicaragua. Most of them are from the Diocese of Matagalpa, whose Bishop Rolando Álvarez was exiled on 14 January. In March 2023 the Republic of Nicaragua asked the Holy See to close their respective diplomatic offices, but without a complete break in relations.

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