Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez is now threatening the Catholic Church:
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez accused a Roman Catholic cardinal Sunday of conspiring against him after the clergyman chastised the leftist leader for eroding democracy and abusing his power.
The exchange was the latest sign of tense relations between the country’s Catholic church hierarchy and Chavez, an ally of Cuba who has vowed to introduce a socialist revolution to fight poverty in the world’s fifth-largest oil exporter.
‘This is part of a provocation, part of a conspiracy, there is nothing innocent about this. It is a plot to destabilize the country,’ Chavez said on his weekly Sunday broadcast.
The offense? This statement by Cardinal Rosario Castillo after Sunday Mass:
“A government democratically elected seven years ago has lost its democratic path and shows signs of dictatorship, where all powers are in the hands of one person who exercises them in an arbitrary and despotic way,” Castillo said.
Is it not true? Chavez is a socialist who has used thugs to impose his will, eroded civil rights, and corrupted elections to stay in power.
All of our bishops and cardinals should be so brave as to make statements such as these in the face of injustice. American prelates take note.
If you’d like to fight back, here’s one way to start: don’t go to Citgo, don’t go to 7-11’s who use Citgo gas, and be sure to tell others. CITGO is partially owned by the Venezuelan government (qua Hugo Chavez).