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STRANIERIINITALIA.IT| Bishop Mazzolari's criticism "unChristlike" |
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Reformed Catholic Church reacts to Pastoral Letter of Bishop Caeser
Mazzolari, Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Rumbek, Sudan
5th August 2009: The Reformed Catholic Church has criticised the recent Pastoral Letter of Bishop Caeser Mazzolari, the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Rumbek, Sudan. “In reading the bishop’s statements, one would believe that we were living in the 15th Century rather than the post-modern era,” The Most Reverend Phillip Zimmerman of The Reformed Catholic Church said.  In his letter concerning The Reformed Catholic Church, Bishop Mazzolari said: “I am clearly and strongly alerting you, dear Christians, that people who call themselves ‘The Reformed Catholic Church,’ in all truth, are no longer acceptable members of the Catholic Church and you should not follow them. Rather, you should avoid them and their influence on your lives as Christians. They will, indeed, lead you away from the truth and the true faith.” Bishop Mazzolari described the followers of the Reformed Catholic Church as perfect “copy cats”. He said that “they imitate the prayers, readings and external ceremonies of the Catholic services in such a way that simple people think that they are attending a Catholic mass or Catholic prayer service. But these rituals are only empty external rites and confusing imitations. Be advised that these are false practices, not Catholic practices. Do not attend such services or you will only become confused.” Reacting to Bishop Mazzolari’s letter, Most Reverend Zimmerman said: “How terribly unfortunate and truly disappointing that a respected Roman church leader, installed to shepherd and teach the hurting people of God, would instead seek to denigrate and disparage the good work of another family of faith, simply because the church is not in union with the Roman Catholic Church. “Of great concern to people of good will is the Bishop’s dismissal of The Reformed Catholic Church as ‘The devil roaming around in our day.’ Such language, beyond being dangerously inflammatory, does great harm to the dignity of the episcopacy, further wounds the people of God, and clearly negates the ecumenical mission of The Roman Catholic Church. Such harsh and unwarranted criticism, as expressed by Bishop Mazzolari, is simply unkind, unacceptable and, most importantly, unChristlike.” In his letter, Bishop Mazzolari noted that “In all reality, the fake face and the falsehood of the members of the Reformed Catholic Church personifies them as the devil roaming around in our days, trying to lead people astray from the faith. In some way, they are also persecuting the Church and the Christian faithful.” The Reformed Catholic Church has promised that they will continue to honor their “pastoral mission, the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, and will never engage in hostility towards any church, community or people.”
By Stephen Ogongo
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