Archbishop Roberto Lucker of Coro, Venezuela, said this week the Church in that country will assume a relevant role in the struggle against violations of human rights and he announced the creation of a National Vicariate for Human Rights.

The archbishop explained that the established regime in Venezuela fails to respond to denouncements of human rights violations.  Therefore, he said, “we are organizing the National Vicariate for Human Rights, where we will collect the complaints that are coming from the interior of the country.”

The archbishop added that victims of human rights violations can come to the offices of the Bishops Conference in order to request assistance or counseling.  “There will be a team of professionals, including sociologists, lawyers, and scholars who follow up on the complaints,” he said.