Collapse of Brazil church roof kills 9

Church belongs to controversial sect

Reporting from Bogota, Colombia, and Sao Paulo, Brazil — Fire department officials in Sao Paulo sorted through tons of debris Monday to determine what caused the roof of an evangelical church packed with worshipers to collapse just as evening service ended, with the toll in the disaster climbing to nine dead and 113 injured.

AP: Worshippers Killed in Brazilian Church Collapse

Inspectors theorized that the Sunday evening collapse of the building owned by Renascer, one of Brazil’s fastest-growing evangelical sects, may have been caused by the weight of air-conditioning ducts.

Rescue officials worked late into Sunday night pulling victims from the ruins of the neo-Pentecostal church, a converted movie theater built in the 1950s in the middle-class Cambuci neighborhood. All of those killed were women.

The collapse occurred as 600 people were filing out of a service that included a videoconference address from church founders in the United States. Without warning, tons of roofing material fell on top of the assemblage.

Renascer, or Reborn in Christ Church, has employed a musical format, celebrities and an eclectic approach — including the use of staff on roller skates — to attract an estimated 1 million followers since its founding in 1986. Brazilian soccer star Kaka was married in the church three years ago.

The church has also been plagued by scandal. Husband and wife founders Estevam and Sonia Hernandes, now living in the U.S., have been charged by Brazilian officials in connection with alleged fraud and money laundering.
[...]

Read Another Article

Criminal Muslim murders sister in “honour” killing
English-first backer tied to alleged hate groups

Related News Articles Topic(s): Renascer / Reborn in Christ Church Related Tags / Keywords: Reborn in Christ Church • Renascer Subscribe to Religion News Blog updates Subscribe to Religion News Blog [What is this?] Get Religion News Blog's headline by Email [What is this?] Follow Religion News Blog at Twitter Find Related Information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults: ApologeticsSearch.com: Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs. CounterCultSearch.com: Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, and cults experts -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support. Find Related Religion & Spirituality Books at Amazon.com Renascer / Reborn in Christ Church Possibly related... or Most Popular Religion News Articles Brazil’s evangelical churches growing; leaders of two churches face fraud charges Brazilian court suspends extradition of church leaders on money laundering charges

Search Religion News Blog