Militant socialists stormed a Mass in Venezuela on Sunday, shouting slogans such as “Satan in a cassock” and “fascist!”
Congregants told Reuters that about 20 people barged in to San Pedro Claver church in the “23 De Enero” community, shouting “Chavez lives!”
The area is militantly loyal to Venezuela’s socialist government.
Luis Arias, 67, a catechism teacher, said: “Some people were scared, obviously, but no one was hurt.
“They said: ‘Because the priests have spoken about politics, we have the right too.'”
The leader of the group, who works at a nearby radio station, made a political speech from the pulpit and denounced the local priest who had been sharing Church pronouncements critical of President Nicolas Maduro’s government.
Archbishop Diego Padron, president of Venezuela’s bishops’ conference, said the attack at San Pedro Claver church was not an isolated one.
“There must be a line, an order, to intimidate the Church, to lower its discourse, to [silence it],” he told Reuters. “The government’s retaliation against the declarations of the conference is intimidation.”
In January, Caracas’s main cathedral was stoned in the middle of the night after Archbishop Antonio Lopez gave a speech saying socialism had brought misery.
In a separate incident, a group wearing masks and wielding rifles entered a Trappist monastery in the Andean state of Merida, robbing and terrorising monks. This incident followed another where Catholic students were beaten up and stripped naked by thugs in the same state.
Having been unable to sell in churches for well over a year due to the pandemic, we are now inviting readers to support the Herald by investing in our future. We have been a bold and influential voice in the church since 1888, standing up for traditional Catholic culture and values.
Please join us on our 130 year mission by supporting us. We are raising £250,000 to safeguard the Herald as a world-leading voice in Catholic journalism and teaching. For more information from our chairman on contributing to the Herald Patron's Fund, click here
Make a Donation
Processing ...
Donors giving £500 or more will automatically become sponsor patrons of the Herald. This includes two complimentary print/digital gift subscriptions, invitations to Patron events, pilgrimages and dinners, and 6 gift subscriptions sent to priests, seminaries, Catholic schools, religious care homes and prison and university chaplaincies. Click here for more information on becoming a Patron Sponsor. Click here for more information about contributing to the Herald Patron's Fund