Editor's Comment: The current row between The Church and the Venezuelan government is not new. The Roman Catholic and Episcopal Churches have supported the overthrow of Hugo Chávez and his administration since he was first elected president in 1998. The bishops of both churches were among those who led the U.S.-backed coup in 2002. Pedro Carmona Estanga claimed the presidency immediately after President Chávez was kidnapped at Miraflores Palace on April 12, 2002 and issued the infamous "Carmona Decree" which dissolved the 1999 constitution, the national assembly and the judiciary. Cardinal José Ignacio Velasco (deceased in 2003) represented the Catholic Church during the April, 2002 coup and was the first to sign the decree. The first signatories among a total of 400 are listed below:
-
El cardenal Ignacio Velasco, representante de la Iglesia católica.
-
Carlos Fernández, vicepresidente de Fedecamaras (Venezuelan Federation of Chambers of Commerce).
-
Miguel Angel Capriles, en representación de los medios de Comunicación privados. (Private media)
-
José Curiel, secretario de COPEI, en nombre de los partidos políticos opositores. (Leading opposition party)
-
Manuel Rosales, Gobernador del Zulia, como representante de los gobernadores opositores. (Governor of Zulia State, now in hiding in Peru after being charged years later for corruption and state theft)
-
Julio Brazson, presidente de Consecomercio.
-
Ignacio Salvatierra, presidente de la Asociación Bancaria. (Banking Association.
-
Luis Henrique Ball, presidente del Consejo Empresarial Venezuela-EE UU. (President of the Business Counsel Venezuela-the United States).
-
Rocío Guijarro, representante de Cedice.
|
|
| Cardinal Ignacio Velasco seated in the front row smiles as Carmona (seated at desk) claims the presidency, de facto on April 12, 2002 during the 48 hour failed coup. Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans marched on the presidential palace; the soldiers turned against a handful of corrupted officers and restored Chávez to the presidency. |
|
|
|
Cardinal Ignacio Velasco signing the Carmona Decree on April 12, 2002 |
In recent weeks, the Roman Catholic bishops in Venezuela have banded together, accusing President Chávez and the National Assembly of violating the Venezuelan constitution. They are now declaring themselves to be protecting the same constitution that they have condemned in the past. Their latest attack is part of the campaign to discredit the govenment in the buildup to the all-important elections in September for the National Assembly. If the opposition were to gain a majority in the congress, they could reverse 10 years of progress made in the Bolivarian Revolution. The church's stinging hypocrisy is transparent in their rejection of government achievements in reducing poverty, in education, health care, jobs, housing, infrastructure and in many other sectors of Venezuelan life.
As The Church has persisted in meddling in the affairs of a secular government, and with their history in the attempted coup, President Chávez struck back by asking for a review of the special privileges granted to the Catholic Church over the decades in Venezuela. It was classic Chávez on Wednesday when citing church accusations that the government has violated the constitution, he "admitted" on national television (paraphrase), "Now that I think about it, it may be true. Perhaps we are in violation of the constitution when we give the Catholic Church special privileges that other churches do not enjoy." Then he called for an investigation. There were many wry smiles among the majority of Venezuelans when he made this announcement. In February, 2005 an acquaintance and fellow journalist visited a Catholic bishop in Caracas and asked him for his views of President Chávez. According to my acquaintance, the good bishop answered, "a bullet in the head."
- Les Blough, Editor
Venezuela's Hugo Chavez orders review of Vatican ties
BBC News Bulletin
July 16, 2010
Hugo Chavez has had previous public disputes with the Catholic Church
President Hugo Chavez has ordered a review of Venezuela's ties with the Vatican amid tensions between his government and the country's bishops.
An accord with the Vatican gave privileges to the Catholic Church not enjoyed by other churches, he said.
The Venezuelan Episcopal Conference warned this week about growing political polarisation ahead of key legislative elections in September.
Mr Chavez has described local Catholic leaders as "troglodytes".
In a televised speech on Wednesday, President Chavez said he was asking his foreign minister to examine a decades-old agreement with the Vatican.
The accord granted privileges to the Roman Catholic Church that other denominations did not enjoy, he said.
As Venezuela was a secular country, granting privileges to one particular religious group was a violation of the constitution, President Chavez said.
He also challenged the Pope's authority, saying he was the Vatican's head of state but not Christ's emissary on Earth.
"Christ does not need an ambassador. Christ is in the people and in those of us who fight for justice and freedom for the humble," he said.
|
|
| The Church fought hard to prevent constitutional reforms in 2007 and won by a small margin by spreading lies that the government would take their children away if the reforms passed. This Chavista gives his answer to the Catholic and Episcopal Bishops who have always stood with the oligarchy and against the Bolivarian Revolution. Both churches came out publicly against the reforms just as they supported the 2002 coup d'etat against President Chavez. (Photo: Axis of Logic in Caracas, November 27, 2007). |
Marxist
President Chavez and church leaders have been at odds over the years but in recent weeks the differences have once again come to the fore.
The leader of the Venezuelan Catholic Church, Cardinal Jorge Urosa, has been publicly critical of the Chavez government, most recently decrying the authorities' handling of a corruption scandal over spoiled food.
On 12 July, the Venezuelan bishops' conference expressed concern that "ideological and political polarisation" was creating a hostile environment ahead of the legislative elections on 26 September.
Mr Chavez has accused church leaders, who he has labelled as "troglodytes" and "cavemen", of siding with the opposition.
He said they should stay out of politics and stop trying to instil fear in people by calling him a Marxist.
"I am Marxist, but before Marxist I'm deeply Christian," Mr Chavez said.
Venezuela has a large number of Roman Catholics