Visiting Fellow David Smilde has co-authored an article in The Conversation titled, “Catholic Church Urges Venezuelans to Unite Against Coronavirus.” The article explains how the Catholic Church has the potential to help Venezuela through its economic and humanitarian crisis, a deteriorating situation which has been heightened by the COVID pandemic and Maduro's illegitimate government.
Although the Church has chosen to maintain "positive neutrality" in relation to Venezuela’s political situation, “research confirms that the Church has a level of approval and moral authority in Venezuela that crosscuts political powers. That gives it the potential to alter a conflicted equilibrium.”