Bishops denounce splinter group: The church “has not become divided”, bishop says

EFE News Service: The Venezuelan Bishops Conference has called on Catholics to "speak out strongly against" a new splinter group in the country's northwestern region that has been calling itself the Reformed Catholic Church. Monsignor Ubaldo Santana, the chairman of the conference, told reporters that the Catholic Church "has not become divided" and confirms its "full and total communion" with the Vatican.

"In the face of the emergence of this new religious group known as the Reformed Catholic Church, we reaffirm that the Catholic Church in Venezuela has not become divided and the Bishops Conference ratifies our full communion with the Church that is presided over by Pope Benedict XVI and expresses our joyful and obedient adherence," Santana said. "We invite Catholics to speak out strongly against those who seek to sow confusion in the Catholic flock. It's not the first time that religious groups have emerged that seek to divide Catholics, but they've never succeeded," he added.

The new religious movement emerged at the end of June in Zulia state with the professed goal of returning the Church to the original principles of Christianity, especially that of the preferential option for the poor. That declaration prompted official Catholic Church spokesmen to dub the new group Chavista, a term used for the supporters of leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, and accuse the dissidents of receiving financial aid from the government.

Enrique Albornoz, bishop of the Reformed Catholic Church, rejected those accusations and said its goal is to preach the gospel, administer the sacraments and work under the principle of the preferential option for the poor. He also denied that the splinter group is heretical, saying that it bases its doctrine on the Bible and follows the principles of the Lutheran reform of the early 16th century.

Prior to Santana's statements, other Catholic Church spokesmen characterized as criminals the founders of the new group and said that they have been excommunicated. Santana said that the possibility of legal action against the reformists will be considered once it is determined whether they have registered as a religious organization and under what terms.