The long dominance of liberation theology is at the root of the decline of Catholicism in Brazil, according to Friar Clodovis Boff. Until 2007, the religious was an important theologian of liberation theology, although not as famous as his brother Leonardo, a former Catholic priest who is one of the founders of the movement, which Read more
Small or basic church communities are back in vogue in Brazil, and Pope Francis is stepping in to revive them, cranking up young people’s support and interest. The once powerful Brazilian basic church communities have declined since the 1990s. Last week, 1,000 Brazilian basic church community leaders gathered to discuss Brazil’s most pressing issues, from Read more
Pope Francis has donated ventilators and ultrasound scanners to hospitals in coronavirus-ravaged Brazil. In a Aug. 17 press statement, papal almoner Cardinal Konrad Krajewski said that 18 Dräger intensive care ventilators and six Fuji portable ultrasound scanners would be shipped to Brazil on the pope’s behalf. Brazil has reported 3.3 million cases of COVID-19 and Read more
The Catholic Church in Brazil is currently fighting both fake news and the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. During the pandemic lockdown, fake news on the internet seems to have intensified in Brazil. Much of it is directed against the Church, often by people who claim to be Catholic. One event that triggered a new wave of Read more
Celibacy is not an obstacle to increasing priestly vocations. According to Bishop Wellington de Queiroz Vieira of Cristalandia and a member of the current Amazon synod the real issue is a lack of holiness. de Queiroz says combating priest shortages in the Amazon region by ordaining mature married men does not address a greater problem. Read more
A Brazilian archbishop has banned all priests in his archdiocese from being alone with children. Archbishop Manoel Delson signed the ban after the court ordered the archdiocese to pay almost £2.5 million in compensation over the sexual exploitation of minors. Read more
A gunman opened fire killing at least four or five people people inside the Brazilian Cathedral of Our Lady of the Conception. The gunman then took his own life directly in front of the cathedral’s altar. The man entered the cathedral just as midday Mass was about to finish on Tuesday. According to the Military Read more
Franciscan Brother Sergio Gorgen and five of his Brazilian compatriots, have been on a hunger strike since the end of July to highlight the deteriorating conditions many Brazilians have to live with. The hunger strikers are denouncing the social policies adopted by the current administration and the country’s court system. They say the system is Read more
A Brazilian bishop and four priests have been arrested for diverting donations and party funds worth about $600,000. The bishop and priests were part of a group that is alleged to have stolen funds to pay for personal expenses and to buy a cattle farm. Read more
In the next 60 seconds, 28 girls will be married. Another 28 will be married in the minute after that. And then 28 more. And so on. Every year, 15 million children become wives. Young women who are actually still girls — but who already have a husband, and sometimes even a child: It is Read more