CATHOLIC CHURCH AND CHAVEZ ON A BUMPY RIDE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 CARACAS 000123

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/18/2021
TAGS: PGOV KIRF PHUM KDEM VE
SUBJECT: CATHOLIC CHURCH AND CHAVEZ ON A BUMPY RIDE

REF: A. 05 CARACAS 3757

B. 05 CARACAS 3262

Classified By: Robert Downes, Political Counselor,
for Reason 1.4(b).

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Summary
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1. (C) The Catholic hierarchy in Venezuela is trying to
re-establish a working dialogue with President Hugo Chavez,
but the efforts are riddled with problems. Emotions were
gushing during the World Peace Day mass on January 8,
attended by the Vice President and other senior GOV
officials. The Episcopal Conference of Venezuela (CEV)
subsequently elected a moderate archbishop as its new
president, but goodwill was strained when Chavez objected to
the bishops' January 11 statement lamenting "accelerated
poverty" in the country. Retired Cardinal Rosalio Castillo
Lara torpedoed the remaining geniality on January 14, when
during a Barquisimeto religious festival he accused the GOV
of establishing a Castro-style communist dictatorship in
Venezuela. Chavez trained his rabid response on the rogue
Cardinal, but demanded an official apology from Catholic
hierarchy. After Church officials effectively capitulated,
Chavez said he looks forward to a dialogue with the CEV on
January 24. The Church says it is trying to keep its powder
dry in case it is called upon to mediate a future political
crisis, but it is also concerned over flagging GOV funding
for religious schools as well as GOV plans to eliminate
Catholic religious training from public schools. We doubt
dialogue is what Chavez really wants from the Church, but
rather a convenient punching bag in the absence of a
political opposition. End summary.

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Catholics Re-Institute World Peace Day Mass
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2. (C) The tumultuous new chapter in church-state relations
began on January 8 during a World Peace Day mass offered by
Archbishop of Caracas Jorge Urosa. Papal Nuncio DCM Joseph
Spiteri told poloff January 17 the special mass, a
long-standing papal initiative to welcome the New Year, had
not been celebrated for the last several years because of
political crises. Archbishop Urosa, a moderate who was
installed in November last year with the approval of
President Hugo Chavez, revived the mass and invited senior
GOV officials as a sign of good faith of the Church's desire
to improve relations with the state (ref a). Vice President
Jose Vicente Rangel, Libertador Mayor Freddy Bernal,
Metropolitan Caracas Juan Barreto, Human Rights Ombudsman
German Mundarain and Controller General Clodosbaldo Russian
attended the mass. Charge also attended with the diplomatic
corps. Urosa warmly welcomed Rangel and the GOV officials
during the mass.

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CEV Elect Moderate, Criticize Poverty, Crime
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3. (C) On January 9, during the annual assembly of the
Episcopal Conference of Venezuela (CEV),bishops elected
Maracaibo Archbishop Ubaldo Santana as the new conference
president, replacing Merida Archbishop Baltazzar Porras.
Porras, a harsh and public critic of Chavez, had completed
his second three-year term and, as is tradition, stepped
down. The bishops chose Santana, Spiteri said, because of
his reputation as a moderate. Nearly all senior CEV
leadership changed, in fact, with the exception of Urosa, who
is in his second term as the CEV's Second Vice President.
Spiteri described the decision as an attempt by the Church to
create new opportunities for dialogue with the government.

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4. (U) However, at the conclusion of the CEV assembly on
January 11, the bishops issued their consensus "exhortation"
in which they expressed worry over the direction of
Venezuela's democracy. They cited the "unusual" results of
the December 4 National Assembly elections, "widespread and
deep" corruption, and costly GOV foreign assistance projects.
Most notably, however, the bishops criticized the GOV for
not taking steps to address the root causes of poverty in
Venezuela, which they said had seen an "accelerated
increase." President Chavez took the CEV to task on this
last point during his January 13 State of the Union address
before the National Assembly. Chavez argued that the
episcopal statement was "far from the truth" and failed to
recognize the positive results of GOV social programs such as
Mision Robinson (literacy). Leaving the door open, however,
Chavez said he had already called Archbishop Urosa to express
his concerns and hoped to discuss them at length with the
ecclesiastical leadership soon.

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Cardinal Goes On Homiletic Rampage
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5. (C) The still warm feelings were quickly chilled, however,
when retired Cardinal Rosalio Castillo Lara (refs a and b)
addressed a religious festival in Barquisimeto in Lara State
on January 14. The procession of the "Virgin of the Divine
Shepherd" is a popular commemoration of the miraculous end to
a plague that afflicted Barquisimeto in 1856. This year's
event was particularly important as it marked the 150th
anniversary of the miracle. Lara Governor Luis Reyes Reyes,
both a fervent Chavista and Catholic, had provided
extraordinary support for the event, which Church officials
say attracted up to two million visitors. The procession
culminated in an outdoor mass in front of the church on
Barquisimeto's central plaza, and counted on the attendance
of Urosa, Santana, and Berlocco, as well as the town mayor.
Spiteri, who was present at the mass, said organizers had
invited Cardinal Castillo to deliver the homily as the most
senior Catholic priest (though retired) in Venezuela.


6. (C) Castillo proceeded to unleash an explosive litany of
government wrongdoings, accusing the government of
establishing a Cuba-style dictatorship while permitting
rampant corruption and widespread violation of human rights.
Spiteri said Castillo's sermon, which was written in advance,
likened the Chavez administration to the plague that once
afflicted the town. While getting some applause at first,
said Spiteri, some people started to yell, "Mass! Mass!", as
an injunction to get on with the service and leave the
politics aside. At this, the (Chavista) Barquisimeto mayor
left the mass, and a National Guard color guard around the
Divine Shepherd statue withdrew (there were unconfirmed press
reports that the guardsmen cut the power to the Cardinal's
microphone). Two bishops had to intervene with the Cardinal
as he spoke, pointing out that people were starting to leave
in protest. "Let them leave," the Cardinal reportedly said
over the microphone. Spiteri said the Papal Nuncio spoke
after the Cardinal finished, trying to re-focus the mass and
ease the tension created by Castillo.

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Chavez Demands Church Apology
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7. (C) Acting incensed, Chavez blasted the Cardinal during
his weekly Sunday television broadcast on January 15, calling
his comments "shameful" and "horrible." Chavez said the
Cardinal's charged homily could have started a violent riot
among the 500,000 people in attendance (Note: The day's
events probably saw two million participants, though the mass
on the plaza drew 500,000). The President said Urosa and
Santana had called Vice President Rangel to express their

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"sorrow" over the event. Chavez said he spoke with Berlocco
and questioned whether the bishops were truly caught unaware
by the Cardinal's sermon. Chavez said private apologies were
inadequate for such an act, and demanded an apology from "the
Catholic hierarchy" on behalf of Castillo. Spiteri said none
of the Catholic authorities would issue a formal apology.
Most senior Church officials, however, made public statements
distancing themselves and the Church from the retired
Cardinal. Urosa gave a press conference January 16, for
example, calling Castillo's comments "inconvenient and
inopportune" and strictly the personal opinion of the
Cardinal. Chavez quickly applauded these and similar
statements from other Church leaders as an official rebuke of
Castillo. A few political opposition groups, most notably
Alianza Bravo Pueblo, came out in support of the Cardinal.


8. (C) Chavez continued his two-pronged approach of entice
and attack on January 17, when his office released a
statement that the President had accepted a meeting with CEV
leadership for January 24, with the intention of "maintaining
a climate of trust and mutual respect." Earlier in the day,
however, Chavez in a televised address lashed out against CEV
ex-president Porras after the latter claimed to have saved
Chavez' life during the April 2002 near-coup. Chavez, who
routinely differs with the archbishop over what happened that
critical night of April 11, said that Porras was lying and
was, in fact, complicit with the coupsters. Chavez denied he
had sought Porras' forgiveness that night, and said he now
only asks God to "forgive them, for they know not what they
do."

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What the Church Wants
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9. (C) Spiteri said the Church's moderate position served a
two-fold purpose. First, if the Church must serve in the
capacity of mediator during some future political crisis, he
said, then it must not be identified with one particular
side. Under previous leadership, he added, the Church was
viewed as being close to the opposition. Second, Spiteri
said the Church has become increasingly worried about the
future of its own religious and social programs.
Specifically, he said the GOV's recent announcements it would
seek to establish a "lay educational system" meant that
Catholic religious instruction in public schools was at-risk.
Spiteri also said the GOV increasingly viewed private
schools as superfluous, resulting in deep budget cuts for the
Catholic-run schools under the "Fe y Alegria" ("Faith and
Happiness") program.

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Comment
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10. (C) We doubt Chavez sincerely wants a dialogue with the
Church but rather a mechanism to neutralize its political and
moral power. Chavez is always wary of the Church because it
consistently garners higher popularity numbers among the
public (which is markedly Catholic despite political
affiliation). Additionally, absent a strong opposition,
Chavez needs a "domestic enemy" he can use as a punching bag
when it suits him. He will likely try to keep the Church on
the ropes, relying on over-the-top statements from the more
vocal clergyman such as Castillo and Porras as pretexts for
attacks. Castillo's homily was probably a bit much and may
have cost him some credibility, but he remains one of the few
remaining Church leaders willing to take on the GOV directly.
The Caracas Archbishop, traditionally viewed as Venezuela's
senior priest, is so far a disappointment; he is seemingly
bent on accommodation, which makes it easy for the Cardinal
to upstage him. We also note that the Church's agenda of
seeking additional funds for education from Chavez, who is
currently oozing money, may conflict with the Church's role

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as Venezuela's social conscience.

BROWNFIELD