Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras in a recent interview with CNS said:

Years ago "I was accused of being a liberation theologian and now I am accused of being a 'golpista,'" he noted, chuckling at the irony. "I am the same person. I have not changed, but it all depends upon the sunglasses people have ... or the reading glasses."

He added:

"People are not looking for the truth, but for their versions of it."

A few thoughts came to mind when I read the interview:1. I have seen almost nothing in the Catholic Press about the situation of the Church in Venezuela.2. Though we all use the equivalent of "reading glasses," so, of course, do those who report what we read. Hence, for me, the imperative to read from different sources: NYT and WSJ, Commonweal and First Things.3. Finally, no one can relieve us of the responsibility to take a stand. But part of the crucial virtue of discernment is to be alert to the sunglasses we wear. And a good spiritual guide can gently suggest we remove them from time to time. Since good spiritual guides are never in abundance, a vicarious guide could be helpful. Marko Rupnik, the Jesuit artist responsible for the wonderful mosaics in Sacred Heart University's new Holy Spirit Chapel, teaches Eastern Christian Spirituality at Rome's Pontifical Oriental Institute. He has a fine book, Discernment: Acquiring the Heart of God (Pauline Books) which can be a helpful beginning.