The Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish (OLPH) in Municipality of Socorro in Surigao del Norte has denied its affiliation with the alleged religious cult, Socorro Bayanihan Services Inc. (SBSI).
"[T]he Catholic Parish in Socorro, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, strongly insists that this group has no affiliation with the parish or with any Catholic organization," the OLPH said in a press statement released by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Wednesday, September 27.
It underlined that the use of Santo Nino's image by SBSI members is "doubtful" since they regarded Jay Rence as their God and not Jesus Christ.
"This bespeaks an insult to this image of our strong and solemn faith," the parish church said.
It then strongly condemned the alleged inhumane actions such as forced labor, child sexual abuse, and other violence toward the underage children of the cult group.
"Our hearts felt such strong feelings of pity and remorse for the victims," the parish church said.
According to the OLPH, SBSI has a larger number of followers than the Catholics in the Municipality of Socorro.
The parish church appealed to concerned agencies and organizations to rescue the SBSI members who had left their jobs and families just to relocate to the mountain called Sitio Kapihan.
The OLPH also asked for prayers for the Municipality of Socorro as well as the victims of the SBSI.
