CNA Staff, May 31, 2020 / 11:10 am
The Venezuelan bishops published an exhortation May 28 calling for "a consensus among all and an inclusive national accord" to save the country from "immense national, material, institutional and social catastrophe."
Under the socialist administration of President Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela has been marred by violence and social upheaval, with severe shortages of food and medicine, high unemployment, power outages, and hyperinflation. Some 4.5 million Venezuelans have left the country since 2015.
In their message, "A voice is heard of someone crying bitterly," the bishops said that "the country is near economic bankruptcy of profound proportions" which "it won't be able to come out of, unless all people definitively demand answers from the authorities and the entire political, social and cultural leadership, and a national emergency is declared."
The bishops underscored "it is unacceptable for the situation we're living in to continue," and that what is most urgent in view of "the immense catastrophe" in all areas is "far reaching moral action, an ethical shake-up, and a socio-political convergence" that sets the country on the right course.