Vatican suspends meeting with Nicaraguan bishops

The Vatican has suspended a scheduled meeting between Pope Leo XIV and the Nicaraguan Episcopal Conference, which was set to take place in October. The Holy See stated that “there were no conditions at this moment” to hold the encounter.

The meeting was intended to allow the ten members of the Nicaraguan Episcopal Conference to brief the Pope on the pastoral situation and the challenges facing the Catholic Church under the administration of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.

Investigators note that the suspension is linked to the risks facing religious leaders in the country. Currently, four of the ten Nicaraguan bishops—Carlos Herrera, Silvio Báez, Rolando Álvarez, and Isidoro Mora—are living in exile. Experts suggest that attempting to reunite the exiled bishops with those remaining in Nicaragua could increase the security risks for the clergy still within the country.