Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Caracas (Agenzia Fides) – Archbishop Ubaldo Santana of Maracaibo, President of the Venezuelan Bishops’ Conference, made an urgent appeal to the faithful, asking them “not to be fooled” by the so-called “Reformed Catholic Church” that is not Catholic and that attempts to “usurp the functions, sacraments, organization, and vestments that correspond” to the one true Catholic Church. In a statement he wrote, Archbishop Santana mentioned that those who promote this group seek “directly to confuse Catholics, attacking beliefs and dividing Catholics throughout the country.”
According to a statement issued by the Diocese of Cabimas on June 25, two Catholic priests from the Diocese of Cabimas and the Archdiocese of Maracaibo, who abandoned their ministry at different moments in time and later publicly renounced the true Catholic faith through their words and behavior, along with two Lutheran pastors, have begun this new Church entitled the “Reformed Catholic Church of Venezuela.” On June 29, a ceremony was held in the San Pablo Lutheran Church in Ciudad Ojeda, during which three Bishops: Dale Climie, Archbishop of the Conservative Anglican Church in the United States; Leonardo Marin, primate of the Latin American Anglican Church; and Jorge Perez, Anglican Bishop of Mexico, consecrated three of these Venezuelans mentioned above, as Bishops, in order to “establish” the Reformed Catholic Church of Venezuela. “It seeks to establish itself as an alternative to the Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman Church, using the same symbology, vestments, nomenclature, titles, and sacramental and liturgical services as the Catholic Church. They also wish to continue calling themselves Catholic without being united in obedience, neither to the Pope nor to the Catholic Hierarchy, even simulating the ordination of new Bishops without the expressed mandate of the Roman Pontiff,” the statement reads.
In light of this situation, the Bishop’s Office of Cabimas has published a statement rejecting this new church and explicitly stating that it does not recognize these Bishops. The document also reaffirms the Bishop’s fidelity and adhesion to the Catholic Church, as the only true and authentic one founded by Jesus Christ, and to Pope Benedict XVI, legitimate Vicar of Christ on earth. It also states that “the teachings of this movement are in direct opposition to those of the Catholic faith, as it not only rejects principles of the faith and tradition, but also the communion with the Catholic Church in the person of the Pope, successor of Peter, and therefore, the College of Bishops.” Moreover, “this movement has no right whatsoever to call itself Catholic, as the Code of Canon Law states that “No association is to assume the name Catholic without the consent of competent ecclesiastical authority...” (C. 300). The statement also reminds the faithful that these priests involved have committed two extremely serious offenses mentioned in the Code of Canon Law (Cf. 751; 1364 §1): heresy and schism.
The statement from the Archdiocese of Maracaibo encourages Catholics “to be on guard and not to be confused by this new group that is committing an disrespectful and underhanded usurpation” in trying to maintain the worship and organizational norms of the Catholic Church. It also reminds all the faithful that “both clerics and laity that unite themselves to or accept the dispositions and beliefs of a schismatic or heretical group like the so-called Reformed Catholic Church, are liable to being ex-communicated, in accordance with Canon 1364 of the Code of Canon Law.”
Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino, Archbishop of Caracas has also affirmed that this Church is “a mixed group formed by dissidents from various historical Churches.” Moreover, “the apparent political finality of this association dismantles it as an authentic expression of the Christian faith. The mission of the authentic Church of Jesus Chris is to bring the announcement and gifts of Christ to the entire world, regardless of political issues and affiliations of the faithful.” (RG) (Agenzia Fides 4/7/2008)
