Nicaragua orders bishop to remain under house arrest

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A Nicaraguan government media site says a court has ordered a Roman Catholic bishop to remain under house arrest on charges of “conspiracy” and “spreading false news.” The government website El 19 Digital says Matagalpa Bishop Rolando Álvarez has been charged with those crimes and “damaging the Nicaraguan government and society.” His first hearing will be in January. A warrant was also issued for a priest, the Rev. Uriel Vallejos, who had already reportedly left Nicaragua. The move Tuesday was the latest chapter in a crackdown on the church by the administration of President Daniel Ortega. In March, Nicaragua expelled the papal nuncio.