Worshippers pray during Mass at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Managua, Nicaragua, Aug. 21, 2022. Retired Bishop Juan Abelardo Mata was detained by police June 29, 2026, one day after celebrating a Mass in the city of Estelí, during which he requested prayers for the country's persecuted Catholic Church, according to independent Nicaraguan news outlet Confidencial. (OSV News photo/Maynor Valenzuela, Reuters) Nicaraguan police detained Bishop Emeritus Abelardo Mata again on June 30, just one day after his initial detention and subsequent release on June 29. The 80-year-old prelate is reportedly now under house arrest. Mata, bishop emeritus of Estelí, was arrested at a clinic where he had gone for a checkup for his pacemaker. This occurred…
