[NYTr] Venezuela's Chavez calls Honduran cardinal 'imperialist clown'
 
Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2007 14:23:45 -0500 (CDT)


Via NY Transfer News Collective  *  All the News that Doesn't Fit
 
AP via International Herald Tribune - July 24, 2007
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/24/america/LA-GEN-Venezuela-Chavez.php

Venezuela's Chavez calls Honduran cardinal 'imperialist clown' 
for criticizing him

The Associated Press

CARACAS, Venezuela: President Hugo Chavez called a cardinal from
Honduras an "imperialist clown" after the Roman Catholic prelate warned
of increasing authoritarianism under the Venezuelan president.

"Another parrot of imperialism appeared, this time dressed as a
cardinal. That's to say, another imperialist clown," Chavez was quoted
as saying in a bulletin posted Tuesday on the state-run news agency's
Web site.

Chavez -- a close ally of Cuba's Fidel Castro -- was responding to
recent criticism from Honduran Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez
Maradiaga, who said in a recent interview cited by Venezuela's
Bolivarian News Agency that Chavez "thinks he's God and can trample
upon other people."

Chavez made the comments during a government event late Monday. He has
repeatedly clashed with Catholic Church leaders in Venezuela, calling
them "liars" and "perverts," but he rarely targets high-ranking priests
abroad.

Catholic leaders in this South American country have warned of alleged
threats to individual freedoms under Chavez's administration and
criticized his plans for a sweeping constitutional reform to transform
Venezuela into a socialist state.

Chavez has repeatedly lambasted the local Catholic hierarchy in recent
weeks, saying it should be dedicated to parishioners rather than
meddling in politics by siding with opposition parties.

Rodriguez Maradiaga, considered a moderate, is one of the most
prominent Catholic leaders in the Americas and has often been mentioned
as a possible pope.
       
                                *
================================================================
.NY Transfer News Collective    *    A Service of Blythe Systems
.          Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us         .
.339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012     http://www.blythe.org
.List Archives:   https://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/
.Subscribe: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr
================================================================