Basilicas and Political Events

Last Friday many Venezuelan Catholics felt great indignation when we saw the Minor Basilica of Guanare turned into a kind of arena for something very much like a political rally. What a disgrace, and what a lack of respect for our Holy Catholic Church, for Venezuelan Catholics and for the symbols of our Faith!

For the information of those who organized and attended this spectacle, I am going to explain a few points of the Catholic Faith, so that they understand what a sacred space means. For this I will use as my source the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), a sure reference for those of us who are Catholics:

“When the exercise of religious liberty is not thwarted, Christians construct buildings for divine worship. These visible churches are not simply gathering places but signify and make visible the Church living in this place, the dwelling of God with men reconciled and united in Christ” (CCC 1180)… “In these churches, the Church celebrates public worship to the glory of the Holy Trinity, hears the word of God and sings his praise, lifts up her prayer, and offers the sacrifice of Christ sacramentally present in the midst of the assembly. These churches are also places of recollection and personal prayer” (CCC 1199).

Nowhere in those points, or in the whole catechism, does it say that a church may be used for political events. Those of us who watched the spectacle, broadcast on a mandatory nationwide TV link, were astonished at the lack of recollection shown by those present inside the basilica. They applauded every time the president did or said something; and they had the indelicacy to chant at the top of their lungs inside a Minor Basilica, where the Most Holy God is present in the tabernacle and where the holy relic left by Our Blessed Virgin of Coromoto is kept!: “Uh, ah! Chávez isn’t leaving!”

As if that were not enough, various topics were discussed that are never spoken of from an altar. The first was to exalt the spirits of the Savanna. When we read the First Commandment of God’s Law, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength,” point 2110 of the CCC explains clearly: “The first commandment forbids honoring gods other than the one Lord who has revealed himself to his people. It proscribes superstition and irreligion…” I recommend reading points 2111 to 2128, which explain and identify superstition, idolatry, divination and magic (horoscopes, astrology, “mediums,” sorcery, spiritism and so on), irreligion, atheism and agnosticism as serious sins against the First Commandment of God’s Law. Here is the link where you can find the complete Catechism of the Catholic Church: http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism\_sp/index\_sp.html

The Cuban choir present was also congratulated with great emotion. Immediately the island of Cuba and socialism were exalted, right at a Catholic altar! I will only recall something from twenty years ago, when we met some Cuban coaches who came to Caracas, and we gave them two cans of milk, some toys for their children and a small prayer book with the Virgin of Coromoto on the cover. When they saw the Virgin, they told us they would have to hide the prayer book very well, because when they arrived in Cuba everything they carried would be searched, and if anything Catholic was found it would be taken from them immediately.

Then political announcements were made. And to top it all off, the president swore by God that he would live for “social justice and equality,” right at the altar! In the CCC we can read how the Second Commandment of God’s Law says, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain” (Ex 20:7; Dt 5:11), and point 2147 states: “Promises made to others in God’s name engage the divine honor, fidelity, truthfulness, and authority… To be unfaithful to them is to misuse God’s name and in some way to make God out to be a liar (cf. 1 Jn 1:10)” (CCC 2147).

After this brief explanation, I hope more care will be taken when organizing events of this kind, and that people will be aware that the word Catholic, and “being Catholic,” is much more than a mere name, a mere benefit or a good-luck charm. And those of us who are Catholics, in word and in deed, demand respect for places of worship, because the things of God, our Blessed Virgin of Coromoto and Catholics are not to be played with. And remember: no one can deceive God or the Blessed Virgin, because they see into the depths of our conscience and our heart in every act we perform.