Caracas skyline. | Credit: Olga Berrios, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Jan 1, 2026 / 10:00 am (CNA).
2026dawnedinVenezuelainanatmosphereofambivalence:sorrowsandjoys,tensionsandconsolations,andmorequestionsthancertainties.TheworkoftheCatholicChurchgoesonwithinthecountry’sturbulentreality,ataskthatisfarfromeasydueto“theautocraticdriftofnationalpolitics,”asthebishopsstatedatthebeginningoflastyear.
ThispastDecemberintheirChristmasmessage,theVenezuelanbishopsdidnothesitatetoreaffirmthatthe“joyfulexperience”ofJesus’birthis“overshadowed”bytheturbulentnationalreality.Thus,peoplegoabouttheirdailylivesenvelopedinabarrageofnews,rumors,andhardships.
Thecollapseoftheeconomyandbasicservices,whichseemstohavenosolution,iscausinggreatsufferingforthemostvulnerable.ThelatentthreatofforeignmilitaryinterventiononthenationalterritorycontinuesduetotheseveretensionsbetweenU.S.PresidentDonaldTrumpandVenezuelanPresidentNicolásMaduro.
Theworseningpoliticalandideologicalpersecutionbythesocialistregimeisevidenced
