Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro condemned a statement by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, as a “compendium of hatred” against his country. Cardinal Parolin had sent a message to a businessmen’s organization, saying that political and economic crisis in Venezuela would end only “if Venezuelans, and especially those who have some political responsibility, are willing to sit down and negotiate in a serious way.” Maduro has clashed frequently with the country’s Catholic bishops, who have condemned the government’s suppression of democracy.