Venezuelan "Catholic" sect seen as creation of Chavez

A spokesman for the Venezuelan bishops' conference has denounced the formation of a new religious sect called the Reform Catholic Venezuelan Church, which has pledged its support for the country's President Hugo Chavez. Archbishop Roberto Lückert Leon of Coro, the vice-president of the Venezuelan episcopal conference, told El Nuevo Herald that the new sect is 'a parallel church that Chavez has created.' The group is being subsidized by contributions from Venezuela's state-owned oil company, the archbishop said, and is recruiting priests who have been disciplined by their own bishops because of 'scandalous' behavior. The Reform Catholic Venezuelan Church does not require priests to be celibate. The group also allows divorce, and proclaims that 'homosexuality and bisexuality are not sins in and of themselves.' But the sect is uncompromising on one issue: 'We completely support the socialist project led by Chavez,' announced one of the group's leaders.