Bishops tell Venezuelans: 'reformist' group is not Catholic

Archbishop Ubaldo Santana of Maracaibo and president of the Bishops’ Conference of Venezuela has called on the faithful “not to be fooled” by the self-proclaimed “Reformed Catholic Church,” which is not Catholic and seeks “to usurp the role, sacraments, organization and corresponding dress” of the one true Catholic Church. In a statement, Archbishop Santana warned that the promoters of the new sect seek “to directly confuse” and “divide members of the Catholic religion in the entire country.” He also pointed out they “intend to install bishops and priests in the entire country without the express mandate of the Holy Father.” The Diocese of Cabimas issued its own statement indicating that the future bishop of the group, former priest Joh Jen Siu Garcia, is in heresy and schism, two very grave faults punished by Canon Law, for adhering to a movement that attacks the communion of the Catholic Church. Bishop William Delgado of Cabimas said it was his obligation to defend the unity of the universal Church, to promote discipline, to demand Church laws be obeyed and to avoid abuses in the ministry, in the celebration of the sacraments and the worship of God and the saints in order to avoid confusion among the faithful.