Priest under siege in battle over Venezuela's political soul…
Then, the dark red letters appeared overnight, stenciled on the church’s pale pink facade: “HECTOR LUNAR — PEDOPHILE — TERRORIST.”
http://archive.today/2019.03.01-195724/https://www.apnews.com/aa4e8b3ae7024a778dcf87a2a694c230
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Salsa music and long tirades blasted through loudspeakers for days at a colonial church in one of Venezuela’s toughest slums aimed at drowning out Monsignor Hector Lunar — an outspoken priest who isn’t shy about criticizing President Nicolas Maduro, even from the pulpit. While appalled by the slurs, Lunar says he feels no need to defend himself. Parishioners show their support, he says, by filling the pews, knowing the attacks tapping into the worldwide sex-abuse scandals rocking the Roman Catholic Church come from Maduro loyalists intent on discrediting him. “They have nothing to grasp onto,” Lunar said. “We’re holding firm and pressing forward with this fight, because this country has to change.”
The conflict playing out in Petare, one of Latin America’s largest slums, underscores the critical role played by the Catholic Church as Venezuela’s political crisis crescendos. It also highlights divisions between local clergy and the Vatican on how best to confront Maduro. While Venezuela’s bishops have been leading a charge for Maduro’s removal, urging a boycott of what they call an “illegitimate” presidential election last year and denouncing the government’s human rights abuses, the Vatican has pursued a softer approach, with Pope Francis surprising many by sending an emissary to the socialist president’s inauguration that dozens of countries shunned.