Chavez against the bishops

President Hugo Chavez denounced leaders of the Roman Catholic Church in Venezuela on Wednesday, calling them an elitist group that has wrongly accused him of dividing society along political and class lines.

Top Catholic Church leaders regularly accuse Chavez, a leftist former paratrooper, of fomenting class hatred and becoming increasingly authoritarian.

The Venezuelan Episcopal Conference, the nation’s highest church authority, warned this week of increased polarization under Chavez and alleged the government was trying to silence dissidents

Actually, the most startling thing on the page was the ad (when I looked at it) for a mayoral candidate, endorsed by a smiling priest named "Father Joe." This seemed to violate about twenty different rules, but then I figured out that Father Joe runs a bunch of very successful homeless shelters in the San Diego area, and is obviously well known.

But still. I can’t remember ever seeing a priest directly endorse a political candidate before. Have you?

More from Beliefnet and our partners
Close Ad