Venezuelan Bishops Give the Pope a Lesson in Economics

From Catholic Culture:

The Catholic bishops of Venezuela have issued a statement charging that the country’s economic crisis can be attributed to the failures of a “politico-economic system of a socialist, marxist, or communist nature.”
The bishops said that the Venezuelan government has sought to control every aspect of private life, curbing individual rights and hampering economic growth. This sort of centralized control, the bishops said, has “led to oppression and ruin in every country where it has been tried.”
The Catholic bishops have been at odds with the government of Venezuela since the rise of the late Hugo Chavez, whose regime stifled political opposition. In their new statement, the members of the Venezuelan episcopal conference called upon the government to stop the intimidation of critics and media outlets and to free political prisoners.