RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Universal Church of Angola decided to protest after the country’s Prosecutor General’s Office (PGR) closed and seized a number of temples led by Brazilian church founder Edir Macedo. According to the bishop and owner of TV Record, the Angolan PGR is plotting and lying as a means of manipulating the media and the local population.
Churches were seized in the cities of Alvalade, Maculusso, Patriota, Morro Bento, Benfica, Cazenga and Viana – of the seven, four had been occupied by dissidents. The temples seized by the Angolan PGR will remain under the authority of the country’s National Institute of Religious Affairs.
In a note, Macedo’s church “deeply regrets that its image, of its members, workers, pastors and bishops is being tarnished, with no possibility of defense,” and that the aim of the seizure of temples would be to conduct a “trial in the ‘court of the streets’ and ‘social media’, thereby leading the public to believe that the Universal and its representatives are a group of criminals.” The text also mentions a violation of religious freedom. The Universal Church says it will appeal against such arbitrary actions.
On July 22nd, dozens of bishops took over the Universal temples in Luana and Benguela, among other cities in Angola, in an unprecedented uprising against the leaders chosen by Edir Macedo, who views the event as a “coup”. Among the reasons for the uprising in the African country, the insurgent bishops mention currency evasion, abuse of authority and racism.
The insurgents organized an uprising against Honorilton Gonçalves, director of Macedo’s churches in Africa. In all, 320 local pastors have taken over the administration of 110 churches in the country (50 percent). In July, Dinis Bundo, a worker with the organization for eighteen years and spokesperson for the uprising, said that in 2019 alone, US$100 million were sent to Brazil without any statement or record. “There are pastors buying houses, condominiums, cars… In other words, this amount could be higher and not everything is sent to Brazil,” he said.
The dispute for power and tithes in Angola has become a political and diplomatic muddle. In July, President Jair Bolsonaro became personally involved in the matter by sending a letter to Angolan President João Manuel Lourenço, voicing his “concern” about the “recent events” and calling for greater protection for the church’s Brazilian members “in order to guarantee their material physical integrity and the restitution of property and housing”.
Source: Veja