"Anglo Catholic" Houston Church Deceives Immigrant Catholics!!!

This is so sad and makes me mad. Full Circle has the link to the Houston News Story as well as commentary at Houston church deceiving Catholics and the necessity of rebaptism (there is a vid)

Let me say I doubt that is some legit Anglican Church in the Catholic tradition either. I can't imagine they would do that. From the above picture too you can see that this is not some small operation either. If one was to closely examine their web site then one might have a clue something was up!! Still it is deceptive!!! What a shame. I hope they get their souls right with GOD!! MY commentary after the article

From the news article:

HOUSTON -- Misahel Lopez Jr. is allowed to play with a lot of things, but never with his faith.
His father is a devout Roman Catholic, and his dream is simple: for junior. to grow up a good Catholic boy.

That’s why the Lopez’s youngest son was baptized at the Cathedral of Saint Matthew in North Houston three years ago.
They were told the church was Roman Catholic, and the service is word for word that of a Roman Catholic Mass. Pictures of Pope Benedict XVI adorn the walls
But after the Lopez family attended Mass for months, they noticed something strange, and it made them suspicious.

The priest had a wife and children — something the Roman Catholic church forbids.
So they brought their concerns to Roman Catholic Priest Miguel Solorazano.
“They hook you up by saying, ‘this is Catholic, this is the same,’” the Rev. Solorazano said. “But it’s not the same. It’s not a Roman Catholic Church.”
Misahel Lopez was so upset that he didn’t set foot in a church for three years. He felt cheated, hurt and guilty for baptizing his son in a different denomination.
He’s not alone.
11 News obtained certificates of first communion certificates bestowed at the Cathedral of Saint Matthew. None is recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, so 11 News showed them Monsignor Frank Rossi.

So many people have talked to Roman Catholic priests about this that the Rev. Solorzano came to a disturbing conclusion.
“They target the newcomers, the immigrants — those who speak Spanish,” he said.
He said immigrants usually don’t ask questions to avoid bringing attention to themselves.
So 11 News started asking. No one from the Cathedral of Saint Matthew would talk on-camera.
Instead, they sent a fax titled“Questions and Answers about the Cathedral of Saint Matthew being Catholic” that said this:
Question: “Do people think you are a Roman Catholic Church?”
Answer: “Someone might at first mistake us…we announce in most of our services we are not Roman Catholic.”
But when asked, a great majority of church members told 11 News that the church is Roman Catholic.
The sign outside the Cathedral of Saint Matthew says it’s Anglo Catholic, but its own Web site reveals much more.
At one time the church was a non-profit organization that mailed out prayer letters and operated out of a P.O. box in Tulsa. They filed tax returns with the IRS.

But after a legal battle with the federal government, the non-profit was ruled a church for tax purposes, and churches don’t have to report a dime to the IRS.
The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston has heard from dozens of disenfranchised believers - some of them couples who tied the knot at the Cathedral of Saint Matthew only to find out their marriage is not recognized by the Roman Catholic Church.

They may certainly be valid civilly if we have a civil marriage license,” Monsignor Rossi said. “They may be valid in that denomination, but they are not going to be valid for Roman Catholics.”

Perhaps the saddest part of this story is what can never be.
The Lopez family is yet to return to any church. While they would like Mishael to grow up a good Catholic boy, only a re-baptism by a real Catholic priest and in a real Catholic church would convince them to go back.

“What I’m saying, what the archdiocese is saying [is] we are here for you,” Monsignor Rossi said. “We don’t want you to feel guilty. We don’t want you to dwell in the past. We want you to come home.”But now, that’s impossible. Roman Catholic priests cannot re-baptize a child who has already been baptized in another church.

The Tulsa Better Business Bureau has also received dozens of complaints, and the Cathedral of Saint Matthew has responded to none of them.
Documents obtained by 11 News give us an idea about the size of this church. In 2005, about 26,000 people attended Mass.
Just a year later, the number grew to about 62,000.

May I ask what in the hell the Archdiocese of Houston was doing!!!! Maybe a lot. But looking at the photos it seems the word DID Not get out!!! How in Heavens name are we going to prevent poaching of Catholic Hispanic Immigrants by Evangelicals if in this case the majority of these poor immigrants had no clue they were not at a Catholic Church. Again this is not a small operation. Did the Diocese take out ads in Spanish media and the Spanish radio to alert folks to this? What is going on!!!! I mean perhaps we should just sign up Hispanics immigrants for the new Pentecostal Church down the street since it seems we are don't give a big darn!!!

American Catholics have a responsibilty to see that this does not happen. The Church was the foundation and safe harbor for millions of Poles, Irish, Germans, and Italians among many others when they immigrated here. I guess I am more upset that those of us whose ancestors that benefited from tht are not doing our doing our part now.

May I suggest concerned Catholics call this office to get some answers