Priests should not be political activist, says new archbishop of Caracas

Caracas, Venezuela, Nov 2, 2005 / 22:00 pm

Speaking to reporters this week after meeting with President Hugo Chavez, the new Archbishop of Caracas, Venezuela, Jorge Urosa Sabino, said, “Priests, no matter what their rank, should never be political activists.”

The archbishop said he told his priests in the Archdiocese of Valencia the same thing and that he would continue to do so in his new post.

“We can be sympathetic but we should never be political activists,” he said. 

In September of 2003, Archbishop Urosa stated that “bishops and pastoral workers who belong to the Catholic Church are impartial and in no way are they part of the opposition, but they cannot remain indifferent to the problems the nation is dealing with.”

Lastly, Archbishop Urosa called his meeting with Chavez “very frank, courteous and pleasant…We spoke about the Church, the Venezuelan state, the city of Caracas, the possibility of strengthening the social works of the Church.”