Caracas, Venezuela, Oct 26, 2003 / 22:00 pm
The President of the Venezuelan Bishops Conference and Archbishop of Diocese of Mérida, Archbishop Baltsar Porras, said that in the face of the crisis the country is currently facing, the government is following the playbook of inhumane regimes such as that of Nazi Germany.
In an interview with a nationwide television program, Archbishop Porras explained that "to see what is happening in Venezuela reminds me of the mentality of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Francoist Spain, the Sandinistas of Nicaragua, and the Cuban playbook which Evo Morales is following in Bolivia."
The Archbishop pointed out that the Venezuelan government has adopted certain "propagandistic aspects, strategies designed to grab hold of institutions and bring them down through false accusations and lies."
He also called it fallacy to say there are many priests supportive of the government of Hugo Chávez. Some priests, he explained, "had been very hopeful" that certain problems would have been addressed by Chávez, but instead those in political office "have acted like moral superiors rather than as governors of the people"
Archbishop Porras also said that despite attacks on the clergy, the Church in Venezuela stands firm. History demonstrates how "governments pass away and the Church remains."
However, he continued, the Church does nothing nor will she do anything to bring about the demise of the Chávez government, because "governments fade away all by themselves."