History shows us that only the Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ and run by the Apostles and their successors. This Catholic Church is not the "old" Catholic Church or any other institution out there that claims to be Catholic and even cites our creed. This Church is the Catholic Church currently headed by His Holiness Pope Francis. The Catholic Church existed before the Bible and even gave us this beloved collection of sacred pages.
The Bible itself warns us of false preachers out there. 2 Timothy 4:3 states, "For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." We see this today, unfortunately. Well, once again we see in the news why we should heed the warning found in this Bible verse.
In Early October, a Pentecostal 'pastor'named Victor Mateo did a horrendous thing. He beat his wife Noelia Mateo (https://www.facebook.com/noelia.mateo.5688) of 58 years of age and Costa Rican native from Limon, then he sideswiped her with his car as she was entering her own vehicle, then as she was on the street in pain and tried to hide under another car while crawling near a patch of grass on the sidewalk, he got into her vehicle and ran over her several times, and if that were not enough, he stabbed her with a machete and chopped her with it. Her grandchildren ages 8 and 11 witnessed the whole thing. Witnesses claim that Mateo was also going to kill them but was scared away as neighbors began to congregate.
She was left on the streets of the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx battered up. Despite all of this she was still alive but later succumbed to her injuries at the hospital. Prior to be run over, Noelia screamed for help, but there was not much anyone can do. A neighbor named Victor DiChristian yelled at Mateo to stop and got a stick, but after seeing the machete, his cowardice got the best of him and he walked away leaving Mateo to attack his wife.
Mateo, 63 and native from the Dominican Republic fled the Bronx with his wife's car while the NYPD issued a manhunt for him. He was found today in Pennsylvania where he owns property and will be facing multiple charges. Here are YouTube videos of Mateo preaching in his sect's gathering place.
The news is tragic to say the list. October is Domestic Abuse awareness month. According to the children of Noelia during an interview on News 12, Mateo was very controlling with his wife and inflicted psychological abuse on her. She left him and liberated herself. Her son describes her as being a free woman who died free. Mateo's congregation "Christian Congregation The Redemptor, Inc." located at 1309 Rosedale Ave, Bronx, New York 10472 has not issue a statement as of yet, only a farewell to Noelia. Their YouTube account and Facebook page just have typical Pentecostal propaganda.
If you notice a husband or boyfriend or wife or girlfriend being too controlling and abusive either physically psychologically or emotionally, there is help. First, separate yourself from that person if the tension and violence is constant. Then get help by reaching out to the police, doctors, social workers or clergy. There is no reason to stay with someone who is abusive and/or controlling. A relationship is a two-way street where both parties are equal. One should not attempt to dominate another. Call 911 and tell others if you are ever hit or abused.
It does not matter the profession one has. Human beings can susceptible to psychological illness. This includes so-called 'pastors' or any religious leader. Mateo being a Pentecostal fundamentalist was most likely fueled by the passage in 1 Peter 3:1 and Ephesians 5:22-24 where it says for wives to submit to their husbands. However, these words are often misinterpreted to have a misogynistic meaning. Men and women are equal. Woman is described as coming from the side of man showing that both stand side by side (Genesis 2:21-24). Men should never be seen or treated as better or superior to women. These verses entail an analogy of comparing the Church as bride and the groom Christ. The Church submits to Christ, obviously. However, these verses tell women and men that they are to cherish one another with the man given the responsibility to protect his wife just like Christ cherishes His bride. St. Pope John Paul II touches on this in 1988 when he wrote his apostolic letter Mulieris Dignitatem,
"that this way of speaking… is to be understood and carried out in a new way: as a “mutual subjection out of reverence for Christ” (cf. Eph. 5:21). This is especially true because the husband is called the “head” of the wife as Christ is the head of the Church; he is so in order to give “himself up for her,” and giving himself up for her means giving up even his own life (24)."
A wife is not the personal property of man or his punching bag when he is frustrated. She is his partner. His equal, his lover, his best friend. Both must cherish each other, protect each other and love each other in good times and bad times. Let us pray for Noelia's and Mateo's family, especially her grand children who witnessed this horror. May she rest in peace and may Mateo truly find the real Christ, not the one Pentecostalism created.
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Source:
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-four-dead-three-wounded-brooklyn-shooting-20191012-cfsw3povc5hzvcn7ljy5l7s66q-story.html
https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2019/10/11/man-accused-of-hacking-ex-wife-to-death-arrested/
https://abc7ny.com/ex-husband-in-custody-after-woman-run-over-slashed-with-machete/5611015/
http://www.news12.com/story/41172508/family-relieved-after-police-arrest-husband-in-fatal-machete-car-attack
https://www.lateja.cr/sucesos/pastor-atropello-y-mato-a-machetazos-a-su-exmujer/KB4SQHFAWVGRJNJSC55NH3N4GE/story/
http://www.diarioextra.com/Noticia/detalle/400636/pastor-endemoniado-mata-ex-a-machetazos
https://youtu.be/4gJsEQTfyyw
https://youtu.be/xuFx5vzEhwA
https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Religious-Organization/Christian-Congregation-The-Redemptor-Inc-224190821096903/
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