The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) filed, on April 16, 2021, an injunction to suspend the effectiveness of two decisions made by the director of the National Institute for Religious Affairs.
At issue is the fact that it was decided that the February 13 General Assembly held by the self-styled Commission for the Reform of the Universal Church was legitimate, recognizing the members of the said Commission as legitimate representatives of the Universal Church, having subsequently been authorized the return of the temples of the Universal Church to the members of this Commission.
"The referred decisions of INAR have been suspended by direct application of the law, i.e., of the provisions of Article 66 of the Regulation of Contentious Administrative Procedure, approved by Decree-Law no. 4-A/96 of April 5," said the Portuguese Catholic University in a note to which Lusa had access.
According to the IURD, INAR could not, after being notified to respond to the request for suspension of effectiveness of this act, start or proceed with its execution, and the acts practiced after the notification were ineffective.
"It means that all bodies, agents, employees of INAR must refrain from any action or behavior that, directly or indirectly, implies recognition of the self-styled Reform Commission or any of its members as a representative of the IURD," the Church states.
"Likewise, they shall undertake all acts, communications, warnings, information and denunciations to the police, investigative and criminal authorities that may be necessary to prevent the self-styled Reform Commission (or any of its members) from practicing any act or behavior that would imply interference in the administrative and religious activities of the UCKG," it adds.
The reformist UCKG Angola, which elected its management bodies in May, claims to be the only institution "duly recognized and legalized, duly represented in terms of the extraordinary general assembly held on February 13, 2021," in which Valente Bizerra Luís was elected, recognized at the time by the Ministry of Culture and the National Institute for Religious Affairs (INAR).
At the time, the reformists called for the non-recognition of acts that do not come from the current direction of the UCKG and its legal representatives "because they are not recognized by the Angolan State" and "are tainted with nullity and even wounded with illegality.
The conflicts between the Brazilian wing and the Angolan wing of the UCKG in Angola have dragged on since late 2019, with mutual exchanges of accusations and ongoing lawsuits.
Recently four leaders of the Brazilian wing of the UCKG in Angola, including the former top representative, were charged with the crimes of money laundering and criminal association, according to the Criminal Investigation Service.
