In the days following the canonization of Venezuela’s first saints, a celebration that should have united the nation around faith and pride has instead revealed a deepening fracture between Church and State. What began as a moment of joy for Catholics has turned into a tense episode of confrontation, intimidation, and open hostility.
On October 25, Cardinal Baltazar Porras, Archbishop Emeritus of Caracas and one of the most prominent voices in the Venezuelan Church, reported that government interference and military obstruction prevented him from reaching Isnotú, the birthplace of Saint José Gregorio Hernández. The cardinal had been scheduled to celebrate a Mass of thanksgiving there, part of the national celebrations marking the canonizations of Saint José Gregorio and Saint Carmen Rendiles.
According to Porras, his state airline flight was abruptly canceled the night before—though he later confirmed that it departed and landed as scheduled, without him on board. Determined to continue, he chartered a private flight, but midway was instructed to make an unscheduled landing in Barquisimeto. “We were told that the Valera airport was closed due to strong winds,” he said, “but later learned that other flights were arriving normally.” What followed, the cardinal recounted, resembled a scene of intimidation more than a safety precaution. “We were surrounded by armed soldiers,” he said. “It was clear we weren’t free to move.” His attempts to continue by land were also blocked. “It’s troubling that one cannot travel freely within one’s own country,” he remarked, calling the episode “a violation of basic civil rights.” The prelate linked the incident to recent accusations made by President Nicolás Maduro, who publicly accused him of “conspiring” to obstruct the canonization of Saint José Gregorio Hernández. Days earlier, in a speech delivered in Rome, Porras had called for the release of Venezuela’s political prisoners—more than 800 people, according to the human rights organization Foro Penal.
