U.S. Military Intervention in Venezuela Exposes Bankruptcy of Secular Solutions
Catholic News Agency reports (January 3, 2026) that former U.S. President Donald Trump announced the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro following “large-scale strikes” against Venezuela. Explosions reportedly rocked Caracas as U.S. forces flew Maduro and his wife out of the country under the authorization of the U.S. Secretary of War. The Venezuelan regime declared a “State of External Commotion” while the Venezuelan Bishops’ Conference (CEV) issued generic statements about “generalized impoverishment” and called for political prisoner releases.
Naturalistic Framing Replaces Catholic Social Doctrine
The article frames the conflict through purely geopolitical lenses, ignoring the regalissimum Christi Domini imperium (the most royal dominion of Christ the Lord) over nations. Pius XI’s encyclical Quas Primas (1925) establishes that “the empire of our Redeemer embraces all men” and that “rulers of nations must not refuse to publicly venerate and obey Christ.” The absence of any reference to Venezuela’s duty to recognize Christ’s sovereignty constitutes an implicit endorsement of secular political solutions.
The Venezuelan Bishops’ Conference cautioned that the “joyful experience” of Christmas was “overshadowed” by “generalized impoverishment.”
This reduction of Christian hope to material concerns directly contradicts St. Pius X’s condemnation of the “socialist utopia” in Notre Charge Apostolique (1910): “The concept of happiness herein involved is a materialistic one, for socialism is fundamentally a doctrine of materialism.” The CEV’s silence about the need for national conversion creates a false equivalence between economic suffering and spiritual rebellion against Christ the King.
Failed Shepherds Neglect Supernatural Remedies
The Venezuelan hierarchy’s focus on political prisoners while ignoring sacramental remedies exposes their modernist captivity. The Code of Canon Law (1917) requires bishops to “instruct the faithful in matters pertaining to the Christian faith and morals” (Canon 1329), particularly during national crises. Instead of calling for public acts of reparation, Eucharistic processions, or consecration to the Sacred Heart – proven historical solutions during calamities – the CEV adopts the language of secular NGOs.
Cardinal Baltazar Porras was accused by Maduro of conspiracy during the October 2025 canonization of Venezuela’s first saints.
The article’s uncritical reference to “Cardinal” Porras ignores the post-1958 collapse of valid sacramental discipline. Pius XII’s Vacantis Apostolicae Sedis (1945) prohibits cardinals from exercising jurisdiction during sede vacante, yet post-conciliar “cardinals” routinely usurp authority. More gravely, the CEV’s silence about the 1917 Code’s condemnation of religious indifferentism (Canon 1325) enables the regime’s persecution of faithful Catholics.
American Interventionism as Anti-Catholic Revolution
The U.S. military operation violates multiple principles of Catholic just war doctrine:
- No causa iusta exists since Venezuela posed no imminent threat to America (St. Augustine, Contra Faustum XXII:74-75)
- The attack commenced without prior declaration (Innocent IV, Commentaria on Quod super his)
- Violates the Syllabus of Errors condemnation of state absolutism: “Civil authority… has the right to define what are the rights of the Church” (Pius IX, Proposition 39)
Pius XI’s Ubi Arcano (1922) warned that “the peace of Christ can only be found in the Kingdom of Christ.” By supporting regime change without demanding Venezuela’s submission to Christ’s social reign, U.S. policymakers perpetuate the heresy condemned in the Syllabus: “The Church ought to be separated from the State” (Proposition 55).
Modernist Bishops Enable Persecution
The article notes that “the Church would likely face ‘more persecution’ in 2026 as the regime becomes increasingly isolated.” This prediction flows directly from the hierarchy’s failure to:
- Denounce Venezuela’s constitutional prohibition against establishing the true religion (contra Pius IX, Quanta Cura 5)
- Publicly excommunicate Catholic politicians supporting socialist policies (Code of Canon Law 1917, Canon 2331)
- Implement Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum (1891) solution of establishing guilds and distributist economics
The CEV’s Christmas message proves their complicity with modernist errors condemned in Lamentabili Sane (1907): “Revelation could not be… other than man’s consciousness of his relation to God” (Proposition 21). By reducing the Incarnation’s implications to social activism, Venezuelan bishops facilitate the persecution they pretend to lament.
The Only Path to Peace: Christ’s Social Reign
Pius XI declared in Quas Primas that “the rebellion of individuals and states against the authority of Christ has produced deplorable consequences.” Venezuela’s collapse exemplifies this truth. Neither American militarism nor socialist tyranny can provide stability – only Christ’s kingship fulfills the Psalmist’s promise: “He shall rule from sea to sea… In his days shall justice spring up, and abundance of peace” (Psalm 71:7-8).
The article’s conclusion – presenting geopolitical analysis as sufficient – ignores the divine judgment upon nations rejecting Christ’s reign. As Leo XIII warned in Annum Sacrum (1899): “There is no ground for difference… all men, whether collectively or individually, are under the dominion of Christ.” Until both American interventionists and Venezuelan socialists submit to this truth, their conflicts will multiply endlessly.
Source:
Trump announces capture of Maduro following U.S. strikes on Venezuela (catholicnewsagency.com)
Date: 03.01.2026