Representative Chris Smith of the Republican Party in the US House of Representatives reiterated his request to visit Dom Alvarez in his place of confinement and called for an end to the persecution of the Church in the country.
Newsroom (09/07/2023 2:39 PM – Gaudium Press) — In a statement released today, Congressman Smith expressed his deep concern for Bishop Rolando José Alvarez’s safety and well-being amidst inconsistent reports about his situation in Nicaragua.
“Bishop Alvarez is a compassionate and honorable servant of the people of God who continues to courageously and selflessly defend other innocent victims who are also being persecuted by the brutal Ortega regime, including his fellow clergy who remain incarcerated,” said the representative from New Jersey.
In March of last year, Smith chaired a hearing in Congress where he called for a “new phase” to pressure Ortega.
In today’s statement, Smith also calls for the release of “all other religious and political figures who are unjustly imprisoned.”
Ortega v. the Church in Nicaragua
While the world anxiously follows the situation of the bishop of Matagalpa, news continues to emerge about the Ortega regime’s pressure on the Church, this time through economic means.
“110% Noticias” reports that the regime has imposed the Property and Urban Territory Tax (IPI) collection on parishes and evangelical temples starting this year, 2023. The charges are very high, and mayors have already stated that they will be confiscated if the churches do not pay.
According to an executive decree approved in January 1995, religious institutions were exempt from the IPI, but parish leaders received a tax bill this year without prior notification.
This tax was not included in the parishes’ budgets. In addition, many church bank accounts have been frozen.
When priests protested, they were told that they did not have the authority and that if they do not pay, there will be confiscation.
“They will not confiscate the images of the saints; they will take the sound equipment and even the temple scriptures because the goal is not only to confiscate but to economically drown us,” noted an anonymous priest.
Compiled by Gustavo Kralj
