Venezuela government, Church spars over prayer commemorating Hugo Chavez
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FILE - In this March 11, 2014 file photo, Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks on his radio and television program called "In contact with Maduro" at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela. Critics have mostly ignored the new TNT spy drama "Legends," but it's creating a furor in Venezuela. The telecommunications commission opened an investigation on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014 into the series over an episode in which a character fingers Maduro and his socialist party as the buyer of chemical weapons. (AP Photo/Alejandro Cegarra, File) (The Associated Press)
A rewriting of the Christian Lord's Prayer to commemorate the late Hugo Chavez is causing controversy in Venezuela.
Venezuela's Roman Catholic Church is denouncing the insertion of the socialist leader's name in an "untouchable" prayer. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro defends it, and calls critics "new inquisitors."
The back and forth started on Monday, when socialist party delegate Maria Estrella Uribe read the prayer at a party convention.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She began, "Our Chavez who art in heaven," and continued, "lead us not into the temptation of capitalism."
Chavez's legacy has taken on a religious glow in Venezuela since the leader's death last year. Chavez shrines, rosaries adorned with his face and images depicting him with a Christian cross have become commonplace. Followers often say they believe Chavez was on a divine mission.