Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nicolás Maduro Wednesday said Catholic bishops are playing the role of "political leaders" and purport to be "inquisitors" of President Hugo Chávez' government.Maduro was reacting to the harsh criticisms the Venezuelan catholic Bishops made during their 88th Plenary Council last week.
The Church leaders reasserted their "doubts" about the democratic nature of the constitutional reform Chávez is boosting, his government's populism and his alleged "Marxist-Leninist" trends.
The diplomat told official television station VTV that "as a citizen and Christian I cannot avoid feeling indignation and repulsion" about the opinions expressed by the Venezuelan Bishops' Conference, Efe quoted.
He repudiated the fact that "some people use their cassocks" and their influence as clergymen "to issue political judgments" that "are very far from Venezuelan reality." According to Maduro, the Catholic bishops' remarks are part of a "destabilizing plan" against the "revolutionary government."
"This seems a new Inquisition based on the old handbooks of the Cold War. They (Venezuelan bishops) purport to be the new inquisitors of President Chávez' new ideas."
Following their ordinary meeting last week, Catholic bishops reasserted their criticisms against the constitutional reform under way in Venezuela. Further, they made an urgent call for respect for dissent, national reconciliation, and solidarity.
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