A top Catholic archbishop expressed concerns about the direction of President Hugo Chavez's government but said he is not taking sides and hopes to smooth out relations that have been tense for years.
The Roman Catholic Church has been one of the most critical voices against Chavez, who has in turn called the church leadership a "tumor." Some Catholic leaders have expressed concern the president may be accumulating too much power.
"All actions that lead to a concentration of power generate authoritarianism," Archbishop Baltazar Porras told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from the southwestern city of Merida on Thursday.
He did not criticize Chavez's actions but said a concentration of power "has been one of the temptations" under the president's government. "It has been seen in the comments of some officials saying that everything has to be identified with (Chavez's revolutionary) 'process,' and that isn't healthy," Porras said.
However, "it is against the beliefs of the church to be on one side or the other," he added.
After months of keeping a low profile, the country's highest body of Catholic leaders, the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference, issued a statement Wednesday expressing concern over what it called the increasing power of Chavez and his allies, and the smaller role played by the opposition in Venezuelan politics.
Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said Thursday that he was "disappointed" by the statement and accused the church of bias.
He also rejected a statement made last week by Nuncio Andre Dupuy, the Vatican's ambassador to Venezuela, who referred to peaceful protests that have waned since Chavez won a recall referendum in August.
"Where are those brave people now, men and women who were witnesses of liberty and solidarity, conscious of their responsibility?" Dupuy said.
Rangel called those comments "rash, if not provoking," and added: "It practically calls on people to repeat the disruptions of public order of the past."
Opposition protests have repeatedly ended in violence, leaving more than 30 people dead since 2002.
Porras, who is president of the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference, said Dupuy's comments were unbiased and misunderstood. "It is common that each time the conference speaks of a problem in society, it is accused of assuming a role that it shouldn't -- of siding with the opposition or the government," Porras said.
Though Porras and other Catholic leaders met with Rangel recently to smooth out relations, the Episcopal Conference is requesting another meeting -- this time with Chavez, Porras said. A main topic would be the release of people arrested for "political reasons," he said.
Last year Venezuelan authorities arrested 13 civilians and military officers for conspiracy, supporting a short-lived coup and strike against Chavez in 2002 or criticizing the armed forces.
Chavez's government denies that it holds political prisoners and says the 13 arrested last year are held for legitimate crimes.