The statements of the MPLA vice president, the ruling party, were made after a meeting that Luisa Damião held with religious leaders of the country.
Some religious institutions subvert "their noble mission and excellent mission, hiding themselves in the flag of the word of God, instead of preaching the gospel, love of neighbor, solidarity, honesty and healthy coexistence among men", highlighted the party leader.
Luísa Damião underlined that, in Angola, the State is secular, but the authorities recognize and respect the different religious confessions, which are free in their organization and in the exercise of their activities, "as long as they conform to the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Angola".
"This constitutional consecration, which the State gives to religious confessions, does not exempt the responsibility of the churches, especially when their form of organization and operation attack the Constitution, public order and human dignity," said the MPLA's vice-president.
According to her, MPLA considers fundamental the role of the church, its faithful and pastors in the construction of a "strong, prosperous and cohesive" Angola, where there is more and more freedom of religion and worship.
Regarding the current economic situation of the country, Luísa Damião pointed out that the difficulties have worsened with the emergence of the pandemic in the new coronavirus, whose consequences greatly affect the economies of the world and Angola.
In this sense, the ruling party called for the participation of the churches in the government's efforts to diversify the economy by increasing local production.
"All this work needs your support as always, with your prayers, transformation of minds and also through the social mission of the church," exhorted Luísa Damião, recalling that the MPLA has the continuous services of pastors as "great partners" for the development of the country "which so much lacks education in various dimensions" and to have "a healthier society and that puts the spiritual, moral, ethical and civic values at the service of progress" of Angola.
Luísa Damião stressed that meetings of this kind have been held in order to listen to the contributions of the church and find joint solutions to the various problems that Angolans face.
In recent months, a conflict between the Brazilian wing of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) and Angolan dissidents led to the seizure of temples in Luanda and other provinces and rose to the diplomatic sphere after Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro asked his Angolan counterpart for greater protection for the members of the UCKG, with João Lourenço guaranteeing that the dispute will be "properly handled".
The Angolan government analyzed the crisis at the UCKG in July, and the Minister of State for the Social Area, Carolina Cerqueira, announced that a report would be presented later to the deputies
The Angolans led by Bishop Valente Bezerra, broke up in November last year, with the Brazilian representation in Angola headed by Bishop Honorilton Gonçalves, faithful to the founder Edir Macedo.
According to the dissidents, the decision was made due to practices contrary to religion, such as the demand for the practice of vasectomy, chemical castration, and the evasion of foreign currency abroad.
Organized in a group they called the Angolan Pastors Reform Commission (CRPA), they also point out to Brazilians practices of racism, social discrimination, abuse of authority, lack of respect and public humiliation against Africans.
The allegations are denied by the UCKG Angola, which in turn accuses dissidents of "xenophobic attacks" and aggressions against pastors.
The UCKG Angola, which in August saw seven of its temples seized in Luanda for the alleged crimes of criminal association, tax fraud, illegal export of capital and other crimes of a similar nature, also accused the Angolan judicial authorities of having made illegal seizures and attempted to attack religious freedom.
At the moment, several judicial proceedings are underway in relation to the UCKG Angola.
