Pillar journalist assaulted

Hey everybody,

Here’s why I’m writing on a Sunday. And it’s important.

Today the Church canonized seven new saints, including the first two Venezuelans ever to be canonized: St. José Gregorio Hernández and St. María del Carmen Rendiles.

In Venezuela, everyone is excited about those canonizations — and the embattled regime of President Nicolas Maduro has even gotten in on things, sponsoring celebrations across the country to mark the canonization.

Venezuela’s government has an abysmal human rights record. And critics say the regime is taking advantage of the canonizations to quell widespread protests in the country — especially from people calling for free elections and the release of political prisoners.

In the past few days, Venezuelan government officials have been in Rome, too — critics say they’re trying to bolster their credibility at home by showing how close they are to the faith, and to the pope.

In fact some Venezuelan leaders have been boasting they’ll have an audience with the pope on Monday — though what exactly they mean, and whether they’re telling the truth, remains to be seen.

On Friday, The Pillar’s Rome correspondent, Edgar Beltrán, went to an event at Rome’s Lateran University to celebrate the canonizations.

Edgar is Venezuelan. So when he got the chance Friday, he asked the Vatican’s Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra about the Venezuelan government’s apparent politicization of the canonizations.

And though the room was filled with Venezuelan civic officials and leaders, the archbishop started to answer.

But then something unexpected happened.

Here’s what Edgar told us in an email Friday night:

​​As Peña Parra tried to answer the question, an unidentified Venezuelan man rushed over to interrupt the conversation.

He told me – in Venezuelan Spanish – that I couldn’t ask questions about the government. As Peña Parra tried to continue, the man took my phone from my hands and threw it on a desk.

He grabbed me by the shirt, asking me who I worked for.

I don’t know who he was, but I told him to back off. I said I worked for The Pillar, and was an accredited member of the press. He pushed me away from Peña Parra, who looked at the whole situation flabbergasted and with eyes wide open.

I started to respond and the man screamed “NO!” at me. He said my question was “too delicate,” and he tried to push me away.

Edgar stood his ground. As Peña Parra was moved away from the situation, the man tried to grab Edgar’s phone again. He called Edgar names, he grabbed his shirt collar, he began to shove him.

I don’t recall this, but in the audio recording I have of the whole ordeal, I started laughing at this man. Maybe I was just nervous. Or maybe, as I spoke, I realized that we were not in Venezuela, and that a man like him can do me no harm here.

I told him: “We’re in a free country. We’re not in Venezuela anymore.”

He continued yelling at me, but someone I don’t know physically restrained him, and took him away.

Now, here’s what makes Edgar one of the most impressive reporters I know. After all of that — intimidation, and an assault — Edgar found his recorder, dusted himself off, and got back to work.

I went back to Archbishop Peña Parra, and said I was sorry for the whole situation. I knew it wasn’t my fault but I didn’t want to end such a beautiful evening on a negative note. He was visibly surprised, and asked me if I was okay, and what was that all about. I told him I was as surprised as he was.

He told me: “Don’t worry about that, ask the questions you need to ask.”

I got back to the interview.

Edgar’s the toughest guy on the team, no doubt about it.

But while Peña Parra talked, Edgar’s mind was elsewhere.

Here’s what he told us:

All I thought about was that a few days ago, two Venezuelans were shot in Colombia, one a political analyst, the other a human rights activist. One of those men was my friend.

Colombian and free Venezuelan media have reported that the shootings were a hit job, ordered by people connected to the Venezuelan government.

Both men survived miraculously, and are recovering in the hospital. My friend Luis, a good Venezuelan, credits Blessed José Gregorio and Madre Carmen with his survival.

But if media reports are correct, it means that people connected to the Venezuelan government are ordering the killing of Venezuelans abroad, for their political positions. In fact, it has already happened.

What happened to me today is a minor thing in comparison. But it made me painfully aware that Venezuelans aren’t safe once we leave our country, even when we’re asking questions about a soon-to-be saint.

So what’s the point? I’ve got three.

1. We can take for granted the freedoms of speech and conscience we have in the United States. But if we take them for granted, we might lose them. We shouldn’t let that happen.

2. We should pray for people around the world who live in despotic regimes, with few freedoms, and without the rule of law. They are often our brothers and sisters in Christ. They face threats we can hardly comprehend, let alone imagine, and they need our support.

And we’ll keep reporting about the Church in those places. In fact, I hope we’ll be able to report on who threatened Edgar, and why, even as we continue to report on the Church in Venezuela.

3. I am so proud to be The Pillar’s editor-in-chief. Edgar faced threats and intimidation, and got back to doing his job. He’s not sure if that’s over, either — he doesn’t know what the assault, or his reporting, will mean for his family, his children, or the people he loves in Venezuela.

But he’s not afraid. And he’s committed to doing his job, because Edgar loves the truth, no matter what.

He is courageous, convicted, and tough as nails. I am so proud he’s on our team. And journalists like him are all we want for The Pillar — people willing to pay a price for getting to the truth.

You should want that too. It matters. So I ask you to consider subscribing to The Pillar. We want you on the team, too.

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And if you would, pray for Edgar. Thank God for his courage. He won’t give up, and neither will we.

Yours in Christ,

JD Flynn
editor-in-chief
The Pillar