However, economic problems, some of the government's policies, and Perón's own personality cult changed this situation. The opposition criticized Perón because of his treatment of dissidents. (Writers, artists, politicians and other intellectuals were harassed and sometimes were forced into exile.) The government's relationship with the Catholic Church also worsened. As the Church increasingly distanced itself from Perón, the government, which had first respected the Church's privileges, now took them away in a distinctly confrontational fashion. By 1954, the Catholic clergy was openly anti-Peronist, which also influenced some factions of the military. Meanwhile, a Christian Democratic Party was founded in 1954 after several other organisations had been active promoting Christian democracy in Argentina.