Cleric hits out at sects
2008-11-20 18:19
Luanda - Angola's government should crack
down on the spread of illegal religious sects to prevent them
from exploiting the poor, the African nation's leading Catholic
cleric said on Wednesday.
"We are talking about institutions that are taking advantage
of the misery of the people to take away their money with empty
promises and lies," Cardinal Alexandre do Nascimento told
Reuters in an interview.
"Authorities have to tackle this problem with more urgency
and determination."
His comments follow the death last week of a 28-year-old
sect member prevented from seeking medical treatment when she
fell ill, and the rescue of 40 children from two other religious
groups that accused them of possessing evil powers.
Police said the children, aged between one month and 15
years, had been physically and emotionally abused.
Between 60 and 70 percent of Angolans claim to be Catholic
Christians, and the country is home to Mama Muxima, one of the
largest Catholic pilgrimage sites in sub-Saharan Africa.
'Church grown'
The Catholic Church has grown since the government abandoned
Marxism in the early 1990s, but is increasingly being challenged
by Protestant evangelical churches and non-denominational sects,
often supported by poor people lacking jobs and education.
Many of the sects mix traditional African beliefs in
witchcraft with elements of Christianity and some operate
illegally. The government requires all churches and sects to
register and provide background information.
Some 900 religious groups are waiting to be registered.
Authorities have launched a campaign to stamp out illegal
sects in the capital Luanda and provinces bordering Democratic
Republic of Congo where witchcraft is believed to be widespread.
The Angolan Mana Church, an evangelical church, was shut
down at the beginning of 2008 after it was alleged to have
insulted the government and disturbed public order.
Nascimento said the flourishing of illegal sects showed the
Catholic Church needed to do more to reach out to "lost souls".
"The positive side of this phenomenon is that it shows there
is an increasing thirst for God," he said. "But those who are
thirsty need to seek the right fountain: the one without the
spoilt water."