Chávez

CARACAS (Reuters):

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez slammed the nation's Roman Catholic Church leadership as "morally unacceptable", late on Sunday for criticising his proposal to rewrite the constitution to scrap term limits.

Chávez's reform plan, which voters are expected to approve in a December referendum, also includes allowing security forces to detain citizens without charge during political "emergencies" or major natural disasters.

Church leaders on Friday issued a strongly worded statement accusing Chávez of seeking to concentrate power with an "authoritarian" proposal to overhaul the OPEC nation's constitution that he helped rewrite in 1999.