He Human Rights Committee of the Vente Venezuela party reported this Thursday that “subjects without identification” broke into a Catholic church in the Guárico state to “generate vandalism” and that during the situation they directly threatened the priest Juan León, who was officiating a Eucharist at that time.
Vente Venezuela repudiated the attacks and assured that the attacks against religious spaces and representatives of the faith “have no justification.” The party recalled that “offering words of reflection, calling for peace, cultivating religious values and principles so that Venezuelan society is united should not be a reason for stigmatization and attacks.”
The Committee shared photographs showing graffiti with intimidating messages directed at the priest. Phrases such as “We are going to kill you” and “terrorist, fascist, thief” are read on the walls, painted in red and black.
The organization described the incident as a “serious attack on the Church and the country’s Catholic community,” and highlighted that it occurred at a symbolic moment for believers, while Venezuela celebrates the canonization of its first two saints: José Gregorio Hernández and Carmen Rendiles.
“The country is going through a moment in which faith and unity must prevail,” emphasized the Human Rights Committee of Vente Venezuela.
The opposition party Popular Will (VP) He also condemned the incident and criticized the climate of intolerance that the country is experiencing.
“Threatening a priest and desecrating a sacred place is not only a crime: it is a reflection of the moral and social deterioration that Venezuela is experiencing today under a regime that has promoted hatred and intolerance,” they noted.
And they added: “Our solidarity with the priest Juan León, Monsignor Raúl Ascanio and the entire Catholic community of Guárico.”