A serious diplomatic incident erupted two days ago when, at Caracas airport, authorities from the regime seized the official passport, issued by the Holy See, from Cardinal Baltazar Porras, preventing him from traveling to Spain and forcing him to miss his flight. This gesture was condemned on Thursday by the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference (CEV), whose bishops and cardinals denounced the ill-treatment suffered by the purporated Porras, who was years ago Archbishop of Caracas. It should be recalled that in October, the authorities of his country prevented him from traveling to Isnotú, in the state of Trujillo, to preside over a mass for the birthday of the doctor Gregorio Hernández, the first Venezuelan saint.
The bishops of the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference expressed their solidarity with Cardinal Baltazar Porras, emeritus Archbishop of Caracas, and asked the authorities for an "exhaustive investigation" of what happened. Cardinal Porras, made a cardinal in 2016 by Argentine Pope Francis, became the target of strong attacks by the Venezuelan government due to his criticisms from the pulpit against the regime of President Maduro. Then, he suggested that the cardinal return to Caracas and present himself at a government office, informing him that he could not take the plane for non-compliance with travel regulations.
Cardinal Porras also recounted that they did not allow him to photograph the paper with the decision they were reading to him, and he insisted, but "they threatened to detain me", so he had to return to his home. A human rights organization protested what happened, denouncing "serious abuses" and stating that the annulment of Cardinal Porras's diplomatic passport "compromises Venezuela's international image and evidences a worrying pattern of arbitrariness". The organization demanded the "immediate restitution" of the travel document.
The airport incident occurred on the same day that the leader of the Venezuelan opposition, María Corina Machado, received the Nobel Peace Prize. In a letter addressed to the entire Venezuelan episcopate, Cardinal Porras expressed his pain and mortification, but also recalled that this episode comes at a time when Christians are called to the Hope of Christmas: "The force resides in the fragility of the present, in the fragility of the truth that is built in peace, without violence".
This is the first diplomatic conflict that Leo XIV has faced since taking office this year. At the highest levels of Vatican power, silence reigns, although an old monsignor explained that "one must avoid responses that are not well regarded", adding that "the Pope cannot let this affection pass". The same monsignor assured that "the response will arrive, without haste or delays", since although it primarily concerns the Venezuelan Catholic community, patience must be had before giving measured responses. According to what the Argentine News Agency could learn, the purporated recounted that an official took his passport when he presented his documents and, upon returning, stated that "the passport has problems and we cannot do anything".
