CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- President Hugo Chavez is fomenting "fear
                  and hate" and dividing Venezuelans in his campaign for a new constitution,
                  the country's top Roman Catholic Church leader said Saturday.

                  "It hurts to see that for momentary electoral interests the president through
                  his words tries to divide Venezuelans, open deep wounds and put the
                  country's future at risk," said Monsignor Baltazar Porras, president of the
                  Venezuelan Episcopal Conference.

                  Venezuelans will vote December 15 in a national referendum on whether to
                  approve a new constitution drafted by an assembly dominated by Chavez's
                  supporters.

                  While campaigning for a "yes" vote in recent weeks, the president has called
                  church leaders who oppose the proposed constitution "degenerate priests."

                  He has also attacked opposition intellectuals as "illiterates," called
                  newspaper owners "accomplices of corruption," and compared those
                  leading the "no" campaign to a "truckload of pigs."

                  Chavez, who broke into Venezuela's national scene eight years ago trying to
                  overthrow the government, is wildly popular among the poor masses. But
                  many wealthier citizens fear he is leading the country into authoritarianism.

                  "Mr. President, you should know that by creating fear and hate between the
                  dispossessed and those who have more, it will be hard to have a climate to
                  construct a prosperous and just society," Porras said.

                  "For this we call on you to lower the tone of your declarations, and instead
                  of dividing help to unite Venezuelans," he added.

                  Fistfights and rock throwing broke out Friday between opponents of Chavez
                  and his supporters outside the National Electoral Council headquarters in
                  Caracas.

                  Chavez says the proposed constitution would help break up political mafias,
                  reduce poverty, strengthen democracy, facilitate the firing of corrupt judges
                  and better protect citizens, human rights and the environment.

                  But critics warn that the constitution is a blueprint for installing a Cuban-style
                  regime, with power concentrated in Chavez's hands, the state intervening
                  heavily in the economy, free speech squelched and the military reigning
                  supreme.

                  Chavez contends that opposition to the constitution is coming mainly from
                  economic and political elites who have benefitted from decades of
                  corruption in a nation with the Western Hemisphere's largest oil reserves.

                  In an interview Friday, Chavez dismissed the criticisms of Porras and other
                  Church leaders and said he would "pray" for Porras.