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Monday, Jan 7, 2013 7:30 PM UTC

Church leaders warn Venezuela’s stability at risk

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Church leaders warn Venezuela's stability at riskA poster of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez that reads "Move forward commander, we will live and overcome" hangs as Venezuela's ambassador to Cuba Edgardo Antonio Ramirez stands by after a press conference by Cuban artists and intellectuals to show support for Chavez in Havana, Cuba, Monday, Jan. 7, 2013. Chavez hasn't spoken or appeared publicly since his Dec. 11 operation in Cuba, his fourth surgery for an undisclosed type of pelvic cancer. Speculation about the leader's condition has grown since the operation. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)(Credit: AP)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Leaders of the Roman Catholic Church in Venezuela are warning that the country’s stability is at risk due to President Hugo Chavez’s complications after cancer surgery in Cuba.

Catholic leaders in the Venezuelan Bishops Conference are criticizing the government for failing to provide more details about Chavez’s state nearly a month after his Dec. 11 operation.

Government officials have called Chavez’s condition delicate and say he is fighting a severe respiratory infection.

The Bishops’ Conference said in a statement that the country faces a potentially dangerous situation amid uncertainty about Chavez’s condition and that “the nation’s political and social stability is at serious risk.”

Chavez describes himself as Christian but has had repeated verbal clashes with Catholic leaders, who have previously accused the president of being increasingly authoritarian.

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