AMERICA/VENEZUELA - The Bishops’ Conference asks that the faithful not be “fooled by the ‘Reformed Catholic Church,’ and that they remain united to the true Catholic Church and its legitimate Pastors.”

Monday, 14 July 2008

Caracas (Agenzia Fides) – “We the Bishops of Venezuela, gathered in our 90th Ordinary Assembly, express our profound grief for the scandal caused by the behavior of two priests, who until recently formed a part of the clergy of the Archdiocese of Maracaibo and the Diocese of Cabimas. Along with two dissident pastors of the Lutheran Church, they have founded a religious group that they call the “Reformed Catholic Church” and one of the priests, of the Diocese of Cabimas, they have “ordained a Bishop,” which has caused certain confusion among the Catholics in Venezuela.” This is what is found in a statement issued by the Venezuelan Bishops’ Conference at the close of their Plenary Assembly on July 7 – 11, on the controversy that has arisen in the country following the foundation of the so-called “Reformed Catholic Church.”
The Bishops unite themselves to the statements that have already been issued by the Archdiocese of Maracaibo and the Diocese of Cabimas (see Fides 4/7/2008), “which completely reject the pretension of the founders of the group in question in causing confusion among the People of God and among the public, portraying it as a division of the Catholic Church.” They also ask that Catholics “are not fooled by the ‘Reformed Catholic Church,’ and that they remain united to the true Catholic Church and its legitimate Pastors, the Holy Father Benedict XVI and his Bishops, successors of the apostles.”
“We reiterate our desire to continue on the path of ecumenical dialogue with other Christian faiths present in Venezuela with whom we are united in our faith in Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior, with respect for our differences, and in a continual search for desired unity,” the Bishops say, concluding their statement with a prayer for the intercession of “Maria de Coromoto,” patroness of Venezuela, “so that the Church, enlivened by the Spirit, may grow and be strengthened in her faith in Christ, under the guidance of her legitimate pastors.” (RG) (Agenzia Fides 14/7/2008)


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