.- According to a national poll carried out during October and September of 2003 by researchers at the Simón Bolívar University, the Catholic Church is considered the most trustworthy organization by Venezuelans.
The results were part of a study which surveyed 1,200 individuals from across the country, asking them to rate the level of trustworthiness of 20 organizations, including the Church.
The results indicate that 35.2% of those asked considered the Church extremely trustworthy. 25.4% said the Church was very trustworthy, 17.3% said it was somewhat trustworthy, and 12.1% said not very trustworthy.
60.6% of those polled said the Church was extremely or very trustworthy, a level of trust higher than that given to other institutions such as universities (52.6%) and the media (27.4%).
Of those the study identified as opposed to the Chavez government, 69.2% said the Church was extremely or very trustworthy, higher than any other organization referred to in the poll. Universities came in second with 61.7% and the media in third with 44.3%.
