Posted on 10/13/2001 11:42:04 AM PDT by TLBSHOW
Pope John Paul II and some of his closest aides expressed their concern Friday to Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez about the Catholic Church in that country, and advocated cooperation between the civil and religious authorities.
The Venezuelan leader arrived in the Vatican accompanied by a small entourage, according to a Vatican press statement.
Chávez came to power in 1998 and has quickly aligned himself with Fidel Castro, has imported thousands of Cuban "advisers" to help support his secret police, has been helping to arm Marxist guerrillas in Colombia, and has established ties with radical regimes from Saddam Hussein's Iraq to Khadafy's Libya.
Chavez had a private meeting with the pope first, and then with Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican secretary of state, and Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, substitute for General Affairs of the State Secretariat.
The official Vatican online news agency Zenit subtly but clearly stated the problem: "Relations between Chávez and the Church in Venezuela have been complicated. Chávez, a military man, is a staunch ally of Cuba's Fidel Castro."
Zenit continued: "Chávez, 55, has tried to concentrate power around himself since he was elected in 1998. He has been increasingly suspicious of the Church's educational and charitable activity, which he regards as competition."
Chavez, like Castro and many other communist leaders, has targeted the Catholic Church, fearing its political independence.
Zenit reports: "On numerous occasions he has referred to Venezuelan bishops in harsh terms. He has also said the Church in Venezuela was an accomplice to corruption over the last 40 years, due to its silence. The episcopal conference has produced documents, issued over the past decades, refuting his statements."
On Friday, the pontiff and his aides expressed to Chávez "the Holy See's expectations on the life of the Church in Venezuela and, in particular, on the laws in matters of education and worship, as well as on cooperation between religious and civil authorities, including in the social field, for the good of the Venezuelan people."
During the discussions, there was "an exchange of opinions on the present international situation, on the common commitment to reject the scourge of terrorism, and on the need for cooperation among peoples," said the statement signed by papal spokesman Joaquín Navarro-Valls.
The press will jump on Bush with both feet if he brings up the idea, because they will never drop the propaganda tool that he is the "oilman from Texas." Nevertheless I think it's time he bit the bullet and put Cheney in charge of a long-range effort to achieve energy independence. One necessary element in such an effort will be a revival of nuclear power. Why are we paying Arabs a megabillions a year for oil, when we could be spending it to develop our own resources and vastly improve our security?
Yes. Soonest. This needs to be emphasized
and the ball has to be started rolling now.
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