By Theodore Shoebat
Pope Francis has warned that he fears that bloodshed could erupt in Venezuela, as we read in a report from the Guardian:
Pope Francis has said he fears bloodshed in Venezuela as the South American country braces for a week of fresh protests against its embattled president, Nicolás Maduro.
Speaking on the papal plane as he returned from a five-day visit to Panama, Pope Francis told reporters: “In this moment, I support all the Venezuelan people because they are a people who are suffering.
“I suffer for what is happening in Venezuela,” he added. “What is it that scares me? Bloodshed.”
Pope Francis declined to publicly side with either Juan Guaidó, the opposition leader who last week declared himself Venezuela’s rightful interim president, or Maduro, who has governed since being elected in the wake of Hugo Chávez’s 2013 death.
If you are going to laugh at the Pope’s warning, remember that the Vatican was right about US policy in Iraq. As we read from USA News:
IN MARCH 2003, JUST hours after the first American cruise missiles slammed into Baghdad, the Vatican proclaimed the nascent conflict a “defeat for reason and for the gospel.” It was a war, said papal confidant Cardinal Roberto Tucci, that was “beyond all legality and all international legitimacy.” Strong words coming from the clerical leaders of some 1.5 billion Roman Catholics and indicative of the rift that still dogs relations between the president and the pope.
As Pope Benedict XVI visits the United States for the first time as head of state, both the Vatican and the White House insist that their differences over the war in Iraq are a thing of the past. “Obviously there was a difference of opinion back in 2003 and beyond, in subsequent years,” said White House press secretary Dana Perino. “But now I think that there is an understanding that…the most important thing we can do is help to solidify the situation.” But after reporters pressed her on the schism, she said: “I really don’t think that the president is planning to spend a lot of time talking about the issues of Iraq with the pope.”
The Pope was right.