Venezuela church-state clash grows

by Sara Miller Llana The Christian Science Monitor Caracas, Venezuela - The fledgling Reformist Catholic Church of Venezuela describes itself as having a "preference" for the poor. But the Roman Catholic Church here dismisses the new offshoot as a political ploy to push the socialist agenda of President Hugo Chávez. The clash is fallout from the cantankerous relationship between Mr. Chávez and the country's Catholic hierarchy and shares parallels with the cold war era, when "liberation theology" – a Catholic movement that sought to empower the impoverished – spread across Latin America against the will of the Vatican, which saw it as a front for communism. Now, as a new crop of leftist leaders led by Chávez vows to put the needs of the traditionally privileged classes behind the needs of the poor, more breakaway churches like... [read full story]