Cardinal Ignacio Velasco, who led Venezuela's Roman Catholic Church through a stormy relationship with President Hugo Chavez, died Monday at his home in Caracas. He was 74.
Dozens of rock-throwing, apparently pro-government protesters tried to disrupt a wake for the cardinal inside Caracas' downtown cathedral, causing police to fire tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.
Police intervened after a firecracker exploded inside the cathedral, where hundreds of people were attending the vigil for the cardinal, said Ramon Muchacho, spokesman for Caracas Mayor Alfredo Pena.
A police officer was hospitalized after being struck on the head with a bottle, Muchacho said.
Velasco died after battling a lengthy illness, said Monsignor Jose Luis Gonzalez, administrator of the Caracas archdiocese.
Hundreds of Venezuelans, including former President Luis Herrera Campins, paid their respects at the Caracas Cathedral, where Velasco's casket was to remain through Wednesday. Pope John Paul II sent condolences.
Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel called Velasco's death "a loss we regret because of what it means for the great Venezuelan Catholic family."
Velasco's 2001 appointment as cardinal was "an honor for the Venezuelan people," Rangel added in a statement sent to The Associated Press.
Velasco often jumped into Venezuela's bitter debate over Chavez's leftist policies.
Shortly after appointment as cardinal, Velasco warned that Chavez risked losing the public's faith if he did not improve relations with the church in this predominantly Roman Catholic country.
Chavez once called the church a "tumor" and priests "devils under their cassocks."
Velasco visited Chavez while the president was in custody during a brief 2002 coup. After the coup, Velasco urged Venezuelans to heed Chavez's appeal for reconciliation, saying the president "promised me he would correct many things."
In November, unidentified assailants tossed a grenade at Velasco's Caracas home. No one was hurt. And in April, Velasco warned that Chavez was leading Venezuela toward communism and called upon God "to free" the country from that threat. Chavez angrily denied the charge.
In a 2001 interview with the AP, Velasco smiled when asked whether his appointment as cardinal was a message to Chavez.
"I see it this way," he said. "My appointment to cardinal is a way to support the church. This is the way the people see it. And the pope feels that by naming cardinals, he has strengthened the church against the public authorities.
"Although I am a person who likes a good dialogue, I try to be like a bridge, to exchange ideas, unless there is clearly something negative that needs to be said. And the church will always say it."
Velasco was born Jan. 17, 1929, in the western town of Acarigua, Venezuela. He was ordained in 1955 at age 25 and spent years working with indigenous communities in Venezuela's Amazon jungle.