SHORT ON ELECTRICITY, FOOD AND WATER, VENEZUELANS RETURN TO RELIGION. Give the Washington Post journalists who wrote this article published by the Alton Illinois Telegraph credit for at least mentioning the S-word:

Venezuela’s socialist government has a complicated history with faith.

Hugo Chávez, who launched the revolution two decades ago, saw potential in using Christianity as a tool of the state, and invoked its imagery as part of his public appeal.

Early on, some religious leaders were open to his promise to improve the lives of the poor. Now, many are critical.

The Pentecostal televangelist Javier Bertucci, who leads a 16,000-member megachurch in the city of Valencia, ran for president last year as an alternative to both Maduro and the opposition – and managed nearly 1 million votes.

Venezuela’s Catholic Church, the largest and most powerful faith group here, has been vocal in opposing Maduro.

Godoy helps connect people on the streets with jobs, housing, food, social workers and psychologists. He sees his ministry as an essentially political project.

“We comfort them, but we also must denounce evil when we see it,” he said. “We cannot be an accomplice to injustice.”

Pentecostal pastor Carlos Vielma has watched attendance in his Caracas congregation explode in the past 18 months to nearly 3,000 at three services each week. He preaches regularly about discernment to combat disinformation and propaganda.

“It’s impossible not to talk about the situation from the pulpit,” Vielma said. “We are all living the same thing. We can’t avoid it, but we are encouraging, empowering and comforting them in the process.”

Comforting the Venezuelan people through the disaster caused by, as Lee Edwards wrote last month at the American Thinker, “The God that Failed…Over and Over Again.”