* President Hugo Chávez has asked the Venezuelan Bishops' Conference (CEV) to apologize publicly following a homily by Rosalio Cardinal Castillo Lara on Saturday 14.

* During a mass to honor the Divine Shepherdess, Rosalio Cardinal Castillo Lara begged the patron of western Lara state to "save Venezuela. We are going through a serious situation. The government has lost its democratic character and is beginning to show gleams of dictatorship."

* During the 244th edition of his TV and radio show "Aló, Presidente," the head of state charged bishops with being part of a group seeking to destabilize the country and plotting to overthrow him.

* "We have evidence of their contacts. Some priests have gone to the border to take money to (Colombian) paramilitary. I told Nuncio (Giacinto Berloco) about that. But despite giving names, the Catholic hierarchy fails to act. Priests continue doing this here and in Rome. I ask the Catholic hierarchy to take distance from this individual. You, Monsignor (Ubaldo) Santana, (Jorge) Urosa and (Mario) Moronta cannot remain silent. Silence gives consent. They should at least refuse it and I think they ought to do it."

* Chávez had a telephone conversation with the Pope's ambassador, in addition to Santana and Urosa, CEV president and second vice-president, respectively. In his opinion, "they were taken by surprise by the Cardinal's tough words and regretted what had happened."

* However, the ruler was not pleased with the explanation. "A private excuse is not enough. They cannot say that this is a personal insight."

* For the third day in a row, the president criticized a document issued by CEV last Thursday, where they expressed concern about "the country's democratic destiny and increasing poverty and corruption."

* "I do not care about criticism. All in all, it is just another one. But I am worried about Catholic hierarchy meeting the whole week and issuing a report full of lies, where they claim to be concerned about the democratic destiny. This is the soundest democracy in the hemisphere," the ruler reasoned.

* Monsignor Ubaldo Santana, the head of the Venezuelan Bishops' Conference (CEV), said this is not the first time that Rosalio Cardinal Castillo Lara gives his view of the domestic situation, and added that CEV does not have to provide any explanation.
Monsignor Santana claimed to be taken by surprise when Cardinal Castillo Lara used the celebration of the Divine Shepherdess in Barquisimeto, the capital city of western Lara state, for his remarks.

* "I would like to clarify that the Cardinal has already made such opinion elsewhere. Then, some bishops and others stated that the Cardinal is a retired priest and he does not belong to CEV as such. He is giving an opinion just like any ordinary citizen in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and he is free to make any judgment," Monsignor Santana pointed out.

* The CEV top representative reiterated that they continue open to a dialogue with the government and all national sectors.

"Inopportune and inconvenient"
* Caracas archbishop, Monsignor Jorge Urosa, reiterated that the religious acts "should never be turned into political acts of any trend whatsoever,"  that is why he considers as "inopportune and inconvenient"  that  Rosalio Cardinal Castillo Lara has expressed his personal political opinions at the homily.

* Monsignor Urosa set clear that "Monsignor Castillo Lara (...) does not belong to the Venezuelan Bishops' Conference (CEV); his political opinions are only his and the CEV is not responsible for them."

* However, he emphasized that Cardinal's personal opinions "do not form part of any conspiracy at all," as President Hugo Chávez has claimed.

* Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez claimed to be pleased with the top Catholic representatives, who distanced themselves from the remarks by Rosalio Cardinal Castillo Lara against the government.

* "I am really happy that the president of the Venezuelan Bishops' Conference (CEV,) Monsignor Ubaldo Santana; Caracas Archbishop, Monsignor (Jorge) Urosa Sabino; as well as Monsignor Tulio Chirivella, from Barquisimeto; and especially the top leader of our Catholic Church, the Papal Nuncio, representative of His Holiness the Pope, have distanced themselves from the declaration and embarrassment caused by that retired Cardinal."

* As opposed to Caracas archbishop Jorge Urosa, the rector of the Venezuelan College to Rome, Father Pedro Freitas, thinks that the remarks made by Rosalio Cardinal Castillo Lara during a homily to commemorate the appearance of the Divine Shepherdess were timely.

* "I consider and ratify that it was a big chance that he (Cardinal Castillo Lara) could not miss. The country is longing to be listened to and for a solution to its problems," he told Unión Radio.

* Father Freites expressed that Cardinal Castillo Lara capitalized on the occasion to "speak up as a prophet and tell courageously the truth: That we are in an extreme situation as few times in our history."

* "Did the Cardinal lie? Is it a lie what he said about clues in dictatorship?" he wondered. Freites did no understand the reasons for such a fuss and asked the government to provide evidence of alleged conspiracy.

* According to Freites, the Cardinal's stance is not different from the position shown by the Venezuelan Bishops' Conference over the last five years.

To deviate attention
* Venezuelan Bishops' Conference (CEV) ex President Baltazar Porras thinks that the remarks made recently by President Hugo Chávez against him and other members of the Catholic Church "seek to continue taking people's attention away from real domestic troubles."

Monsignor Porras feels that President Chávez wants to make people believe that the Church is divided. "The situation yesterday (Tuesday) was another example to create confusion, division and continued dispute as it were the real problem in the country."
Porras claimed to be "almost certain" that during the meeting held by the ruler and CEV board, no apologies are to be offered for any statement of bishops concerning the head of state.

* "Offering apologies does not make sense; otherwise, he (the president) would have to apologize for all his insults."