Father José Palmar: "The Venezuelans are still Catholic, but the figure of Bergoglio hurts us a lot"

After 28 years as parish priest of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Maracaibo, Father Jose Palmar had to leave Venezuela and exile deepened his indignation with Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the same person who had filled him with "joy and hope" six years earlier.. "It is because, for the first time in 2000, we had a successor to the Latin American San Pedro and, personally, I felt very identified because I am of the third Franciscan order. When they chose him, Pope felt that he was filling the void left by John Paul II … But quickly the foam fellHe said with disappointment in the dialogue with Infobae.

The "moss" for this "poor priest" – as it is described – disappeared when Francisco badumed an "importance in universal politics". Palmar does not forgive some of his tours, including that of Cuba in 2015, let alone his participation in the dialogue between the Nicolás Maduro regime. and some sectors of the Venezuelan opposition that resulted in nothing. "The emotion was gone when we saw how it was progressing in the tumultuous waters of 21st century socialism, which has filled me with dissatisfaction," he says.

For the priest, it is incredible that Francisco does not speak of hunger, violence or corruption in Venezuela. These "omissions" seem so painful that he even dares to ask him to withdraw, like Benedict XVI: "If Francisco does not present himself as a pastor of the soul, a prophet who claims justice for Venezuela or personalities like Nicaragua, Bolivia or Cuba, subjected to the yoke of castroterrorism and narco-terrorism, I invites you to resign ".

He says it now and is ready to repeat it several times. "It can not be that in the last five months when Venezuela is plunged into neglect, social chaos and under the darkness of death, we have not even asked the Vatican to pray for we ", he insisted and denounced: that there is a situation of omission of the Vatican on the situation of Venezuela".

From the Holy See, they deny "the indifference" that is doing so much harm to Palmar and other international personalities. The Vatican Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, uses the term "positive neutrality" to explain the pope's behavior on the crisis in Venezuela. But for Palmar "neutrality does not exist in mercy: good is done or good is left to do, and whoever does not do good does evil in an accomplice way"And he adds," This neutrality does not help those who are overwhelmed by hunger, but rather the terrorists and aggressors of Venezuela. "

Father Palmar left the country in January 2018 after the "siege of Venezuela's repressive organs" which, according to his complaint, wanted to put him in prison. "I went to Mexico, there, they murdered the person who lodged me on the order of Diosdado Cabello and, since I did not have a visa, I went to the United States as n & nbsp; Any immigrant. " The priest was a prisoner of 42 days in a prison for migrants a year ago, March 12, 2018, he had recovered his freedom.

He also says that he works as a laborer in the United States because the church "punished him for telling the truth". "I am a priest without a parish, without an altar, without work, the church punishes those who speak the truth and reward the one who hides it." His exile, he says, is due to the struggle against Nicolás Maduro's regime and to which he was encouraged to denounce "the monseñores bought by the public authorities".

"We Venezuelans are still Catholics, I am still a Catholic priest, but the figure of Bergoglio hurts us a lot"he says. "I would like the pope to listen to the priests of the neighborhood, the nuns of the schools and not just the monsters, who are always bought."

Today, six years after his papacy, he asks Francisco "to put his hand on his chest, to badume the role of Peter, to be the shepherd of souls and the guardian of justice." ". For him, there are two churches: "A Vatican guarding its coffers and a Venezuelan church thrown in the street to defend its people … Where is Christ, in the hidden Vatican or in the streets of Venezuela helping his people? "

There is silence in the conversation and Father Palmar responds aloud: "Jesus never stayed in his office … "