Rafael Vidal was speaking to Lusa following the incidents that took place this weekend, near IURD cathedrals in Luanda.
The case was denounced in a report published by TV Record (belonging to the IURD), in which some faithful complain of attacks by the police and say that Brazilian religious are being targeted by xenophobia.
"There are incidents that involve the temporary suspension of temples where Angolan, Brazilian and other nationals", supporters of the wards in conflict in the IURD, have concentrated, he said.
"Often the spirits are heated and there are incidents involving these people, who are citizens of multiple nationalities," said the diplomat.
"Therefore, [these acts] are not characterized as an attack on Brazilians, but incidents, involving the gathering of the faithful of the Universal Church in front of temples that are suspended from their activities due to an action that takes place in the Public Ministry of Angola. "he explained.
The conflict between the Brazilian and Angolan wings of the IURD has been dragging on since November 2019 and tensions began to rise again last week after an interview by the Minister of Culture, Jomo Fortunato, who oversees religious issues, in which he recognized the new local leadership. , emerged from Angolan dissidents and led by Bishop Valente Bezerra Luís, as government interlocutor.
In response, the wing faithful to the Brazilian leadership, led in Angola by Bishop Honorilton Gonçalves, questioned the legitimacy of the Minister of Culture to decide who the leader of the IURD is, and promised that the bishops, pastors, workers and members of the Church will "resist until to the end ".
The Brazilian ambassador declined to comment on Jomo Fortunato's statements and stressed that the matter belongs to the judicial forum.
"The Embassy of Brazil does not take a position on statements by Angolan authorities on a relevant matter in terms of justice," he said, stressing that the issue is part of the "sovereign sphere of the Angolan judiciary.
Regarding possible steps to ensure the protection of the faithful of the IURD, Rafael Vidal said that the embassy does "due management, together with its counterparts, in the defense of Brazilian citizens to guarantee their security, as is customary in consular activities among all States and between sister countries like Brazil and Angola ".
He added that the Angolan and Brazilian governments are "sensitive" to the reciprocal management of these issues, highlighting the "very high priority that bilateral relations have, within the strategic partnership between Brazil and Angola" and in view of the fraternal relationship of "hundreds of years" with the country.
The diplomat also recalled that Brazil was the first country to recognize Angola's independence, but also, at the end of the civil war, the MPLA as a government party.
"For this reason, our relationship is of the highest level, based on a strategic partnership, involving a dense and rich commercial, cultural and investment agenda", underlined the same official, stressing that the conversations between the two countries take place in a "a framework of respect and care for the sovereignty and independence" of Brazil and Angola.
The crisis at the IURD in Angola results from differences between Angolan and Brazilian pastors and bishops over the management of that institution and complaints of humiliation, discrimination and economic crimes.
After months of internal conflicts and upheavals, the IURD in Angola split up, with the dissident (Angolan) wing creating a Reform Commission, in disagreement with the Brazilian leadership, and claiming to be legitimized in a new Angolan IURD, a fact now recognized for the government.
The Attorney General of the Republic of Angola apprehended and ordered the closure of IURD cathedrals in various provinces last year for the alleged practice of crimes of criminal association, tax fraud, illicit export of capital and other illicit acts of a similar nature, following the dispute, marked by mutual accusations of aggression.
