"In fact, what is happening here is that our brothers are acting in bad faith, because we were advised to reconcile in order to put an end to this situation that the church is experiencing", said this Wednesday Valente Bizerra Luís to Lusa, reacting to the announcement of the reopening of temples.
The director of the Angolan dissident wing of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) in Angola, recognized by the National Institute of Religious Affairs (INAR), said that the legitimacy of the church is not in question, as it has documents that attest.
"And here we are not talking, at the moment, about a question of legitimacy, because if we are going to talk about a question of legitimacy, they say that they are and we also say that we are, but each one must then present a document that proves their legitimacy", he underlined.
"I can speak out loud, we practically have all the documents that prove our legitimacy", he assured.
Bishop Alberto Segunda told Lusa this Wednesday that "there are no longer wings" at the UCKG in Angola and that the church's more than 100 temples could be reopened "soon".
"For me there are no two wings, it no longer exists, that was just at the beginning of the conflict, what exists now is the UCKG which is going through a phase of reconciliation", said Alberto Segunda, Angolan bishop and leader of the well-known Brazilian wing of the UCKG in Angola.
Alberto Segunda said that the more than 100 UCKG temples spread across the 18 Angolan provinces remain closed, admitting, however, their reopening "soon", after the execution of the sentence, dated March 31, 2022.
For Valente Bizerra Luís, who devalues Alberto Segunda's arguments about the possible reopening of times, "only INAR, as a faithful trustee, will be able to hand over the keys of times to those who are entitled".
"Now, when Bishop Segunda says that in the next few days the temples must be reopened, it is not the bishop who should dictate so, because in this country there are laws, authorities of law", he pointed out.
Asked if the wards persist within the UCKG in Angola, Bizerra Luís said that he would like them not to exist, but, he noted, the Brazilian leadership "publicly shows the opposite, passing the idea that they are recognized by the government and that they have a favorable sentence ".
In order for there not to be wings, he argued, "I think there would in fact be a reconciliation on both sides, and this reconciliation we have tried in various ways and are still trying".
"But our brothers say they don't want to receive communion with us in the same institution and prefer that each one goes their own way", he shot.
"The other side does not accept reconciliation, we have already talked several times, for there to be reconciliation there has to be a will on both sides and our brothers lack this will and I think they are not being honest in the approaches they make publicly", he stressed.
Bizerra Luís also confirmed UCKG's participation in the peace march promoted by JMPLA, the youth arm of the ruling party, referring that they were invited by the National Youth Council (CNJ) and not by invitation of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) .
"The church that we direct was in a march to which we were invited by the CNJ and not by the MPLA or JMPLA", he justified.
On whether they would participate in a march called by UNITA, the bishop replied: "We are not concerned with supporting this or that party, what I received was an invitation from the CNJ and as far as I know it is not linked to any party".
This religious leader also said he looked forward to the reopening of the temples, noting, however, that Luanda and some provinces in the interior of Angola already have "some temples open".
