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Brazilian rancher convicted of nun’s murder

18 Apr 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The psalmist expresses gratitude this Sunday that the Lord "did not let my enemies rejoice over me." A court in Brazil has sentenced a rancher to 30 years in prison for ordering the murder in 2005 of U.S.-born nun Dorothy Stang over a land dispute. Stang had lived for decades in the Amazon region advocating for the rural poor and opposing deforestation. The much-delayed process of convicting her killers became a test of Brazil's ability to tackle widespread impunity from such crimes in the region. Vitalmiro Moura, 39, was given the maximum sentence Monday after a jury in the Amazon port city of Belem found him guilty of hiring a gunman to kill 73-year-old Stang. A member of the Sisters of Notre de Namur, Stang was born in Dayton, Ohio but was naturalized as a Brazilian citizen and devoted nearly 40 years of her life to helping landless peasants threatened by loggers and ranchers. Locals affectionately called her "the angel of the Amazon." Moura had received the same sentence previously but it was overturned in 2008, a decision Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had called a "stain" on Brazil's image abroad. A retrial was ordered after it was determined that jurors had ignored evidence pointing to Moura's guilt in reaching their verdict. Stang's murder became a symbol of the often-violent conflicts over natural resources in the vast Amazon region. The Land Pastoral Commission, which monitors conflicts over land in Brazil, says 365 people were murdered in such disputes between 1999 and 2008. Commission spokeswoman Cristiane Passos welcomed the judgment but said the government and justice system need to pay more attention to violent conflicts over land as the problem still claims many lives. "It's still far from the end of the violence," Passos said. Source: An article by Peter Murphy for Reuters and dorothystang.org

murder dorothy stang brazil land amazon vitalmiro moura sisters of notre de namur land pastoral commission cristiane passos
Brazil suffers high casualties from landslides

23 Jan 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Both the first and second readings this Sunday describe how God acts to bring the light of salvation and consolation to God’s people. Nowhere perhaps is that consolation needed more urgently this week than in Brazil, where more than 700 have died and hundreds more are missing after the worst landslides in decades. The list of missing people released by the Rio de Janeiro state prosecutor’s office suggests the final death toll could be close to 1,000. “There are families that were so decimated that there is no one left to confirm who’s missing,” said Roberto Botto, a spokesman for the Civil Defense agency in Nova Friburgo, where at least 345 people died. The death toll has been rising daily as rescuers reach isolated areas and dig out more bodies from the wreckage of neighborhoods that were virtually wiped out by the landslides and floods following torrential rain in southeast Brazil. Army helicopters have been running missions to remote areas to pick up survivors and help them dig up bodies from their ruined houses. Hundreds of people are believed to be in areas still at risk of fresh mudslides. The floods and mudslides hit with such force that the geography of the region has been altered significantly, officials said. “Streams turned into wide, deep rivers. There is a huge geographical change; it’s as if towns were completely re-founded,” said Icaro Moreno, president of EMOP, a government public works firm. Source: An article by Rodrigo Viga Gair and Stuart Grudgings for Reuters

brazil mudslide landslide nova friburgo
Brazilian Catholics migrating to other churches

08 Jul 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The Catholic Church in Brazil might take some solace from Saint Paul’s message in this Sunday’s selection from Second Corinthians, where he says he is content with his weaknesses, hardships, and constraints because “when I am weak, then I am strong.” That is due to the fact that fewer than two thirds of Brazilians now identify as Catholics, marking a record decline in the country with the largest Catholic population in the world.Just over 64 percent of the Brazilian population of 191 million identifies itself as Catholic, according to figures from the 2010 census. In the year 2000, when the last census was carried out, Catholics comprised almost 74 percent of the population. The fall since 1970 has been stunning: In that year, almost 92 percent of Brazilians self-identified as Catholic.Meanwhile, the number of Brazilian Christian evangelists has risen rapidly, up nearly a third in the last decade, from 15.4 to 22.2 percent. Demographer Joseph Eustace Diniz Alves, from the National School of Statistical Sciences, said that if the trend continues, the number of evangelicals will surpass that of Catholics in 20 or 30 years. If that happens, "The largest Catholic country in the world will cease to be Catholic," Alves said, adding that evangelical churches are taking over in the suburbs and the new middle class with a "theology of prosperity” which promises an improved economic life to those who join.Father Thierry Linard of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil said the data reflect an "institutional failure" of the Catholic Church. In his view, the church has been unable to respond as quickly to the migration patterns in the country as have Pentecostal churches. "The Assembly of God has much more penetration in the periphery. Where a community arises, soon a little church comes," he said, adding that in the Catholic Church, the "structure is more onerous." Sources: Articles by Agence France Presse and Denise Menchen and Fabio Brisolla for Folia de S. Paulo

catholics catholic church brazil evangelicals assemblies of god pentecostal churches national school of statistical sciences joseph eustace diniz alves thierry linard
Brazil endures trial by fire

03 Feb 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The psalmist this Sunday prays for rescue and deliverance from the Lord, who will be “a stronghold to give me safety.” Alas there was no rescue or safety for 235 young Brazilians who perished after being trapped in a nightclub fire over the weekend in the university town of Santa Maria. Reformers are determined to change lax enforcement that allowed the club to operate with no fire alarm, no sprinklers, no fire escape, fire extinguishers that did not function, and only one exit. In a statement from his lawyer Wednesday, the owner of the Kiss nightclub, where the fire broke out, deflected blame to "the whole country" as well as to architects and inspectors charged with making sure the building was safe. Jader Marques said his client, nightclub owner Elissandro Spohr, "regretted having ever been born" because of his grief over the fire but still blamed Sunday's tragedy on "a succession of errors made by the whole country."Police investigating the blaze have said it likely started when a country music band performing at the club lit a flare, which ignited flammable soundproofing foam on the ceiling. That initial error was compounded by the near-total lack of emergency infrastructure, police have said. Many of the deaths occurred when the crowd panicked and created a stampede.The tragedy raised questions about the reliability of safety regulations in a nation set to host the World Cup and Olympic Games. Past building- and fire-safety plan permits issued to the club showed that the single exit, the foam insulation, and other contributors to the tragedy didn't violate laws."Do I agree with the fact that there was only one exit? No," said Major Gerson Pereira, an inspector with the local fire department. "Do I agree that the roof was covered with flammable material? No, I don't. I would have liked to shut down this place, but then the firefighters could be sued" because no law had been broken.Homily hint: When tragedy strikes on a grand scale, as it did in the Brazilian night club fire, our hearts go out to those directly affected. But in communities everywhere, smaller scale tragedies claim lives daily—home fires, auto accidents, violent encounters. Perhaps asking for a simple show of hands at some point in a service from all whose lives have been touched recently by such tragedies, so that we can support those who are grieving in our midst. Sources: Articles by Julianna Barbassa for Associated Press and Ana Flor for Reuters

brazil fires kiss santa maria elissandro spohr fire safety
Bye-bye Brazilian Catholics?

24 Feb 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday’s reading from the Book of Genesis, the Lord promises Abram that his descendents will be as numerous as the stars in the sky. One might have said the same of Brazilian Catholics as recently as the 1970s when more than 90 percent of the nation identified with the faith. Today that number has plummeted to 65 percent. Alarmed at the drop, church leaders are trying new strategies to counteract the growing popularity of evangelical churches on the one hand and secularism on the other.Before Pope Benedict XVI announced he would vacate the papacy at the end of the month, he had been expected to visit Rio de Janeiro in July for World Youth Day, a large international gathering aimed at energizing new generations of Catholics. Many Brazilian Catholics were hoping that the trip would bring worldwide focus to the challenges of evangelical growth and secularism.One Brazilian response has been a Charismatic renewal that invigorates many Catholic services with the kind of liveliness that in the past worshipers found only in evangelical churches. Father Marcelo Rossi, a 45-year-old former personal trainer, has sold more than 12 million CDs and has celebrated Mass in a soccer stadium filled with tens of thousands of people.Some Catholic priests now perform “liberation Masses” resembling group exorcisms and welcome congregants who speak in tongues. While such aspects are frowned upon by some Catholics, the Charismatic movement has clearly struck a chord among many worshipers.Evangelical churches, especially Pentecostal ones that share this focus on the charisms or gifts of the Spirit, are growing rapidly and building megachurches. In São Paulo the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, a multinational Pentecostal organization founded in Brazil in 1977, is spending $200 million to build a 10,000-seat replica of Solomon’s Temple.At the same time a growing number of Latin Americans say they have no religious affiliation at all, part of a worldwide trend, said Philip Jenkins, a history professor who teaches at the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University. One sign of this, he said, is the drastic drop in fertility rates, which for the Catholic church means fewer children to be baptized and confirmed, fewer young candidates to become priests and nuns, and diminishing ties to the church for Catholic parents.Brazil’s fertility rate, at about 1.83 children per woman, is among Latin America’s lowest. “If I were a Brazilian cardinal, I would be even more worried about family size and fertility rates, which are a very good augur of secularization, than Pentecostalism,” Jenkins said.Homily hint: The challenges the Catholic Church faces in Brazil, though pronounced, are not unique to that country. The ranks of disaffected Catholics seem to grow daily, for a variety of reasons. Perhaps a parish discussion on how to help stem the tide of defections would be in order. Source: An article by Simon Romero for the New York Times

brazil brazilian catholics philip jenkins universal church of the kingdom of god liberation masses marcelo rossi secularism charismatic renewal evangelicalism pentecostalism
Bye-bye Brazilian Catholics?

24 Feb 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday’s reading from the Book of Genesis, the Lord promises Abram that his descendents will be as numerous as the stars in the sky. One might have said the same of Brazilian Catholics as recently as the 1970s when more than 90 percent of the nation identified with the faith. Today that number has plummeted to 65 percent. Alarmed at the drop, church leaders are trying new strategies to counteract the growing popularity of evangelical churches on the one hand and secularism on the other.Before Pope Benedict XVI announced he would vacate the papacy at the end of the month, he had been expected to visit Rio de Janeiro in July for World Youth Day, a large international gathering aimed at energizing new generations of Catholics. Many Brazilian Catholics were hoping that the trip would bring worldwide focus to the challenges of evangelical growth and secularism.One Brazilian response has been a Charismatic renewal that invigorates many Catholic services with the kind of liveliness that in the past worshipers found only in evangelical churches. Father Marcelo Rossi, a 45-year-old former personal trainer, has sold more than 12 million CDs and has celebrated Mass in a soccer stadium filled with tens of thousands of people.Some Catholic priests now perform “liberation Masses” resembling group exorcisms and welcome congregants who speak in tongues. While such aspects are frowned upon by some Catholics, the Charismatic movement has clearly struck a chord among many worshipers.Evangelical churches, especially Pentecostal ones that share this focus on the charisms or gifts of the Spirit, are growing rapidly and building megachurches. In São Paulo the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, a multinational Pentecostal organization founded in Brazil in 1977, is spending $200 million to build a 10,000-seat replica of Solomon’s Temple.At the same time a growing number of Latin Americans say they have no religious affiliation at all, part of a worldwide trend, said Philip Jenkins, a history professor who teaches at the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University. One sign of this, he said, is the drastic drop in fertility rates, which for the Catholic church means fewer children to be baptized and confirmed, fewer young candidates to become priests and nuns, and diminishing ties to the church for Catholic parents.Brazil’s fertility rate, at about 1.83 children per woman, is among Latin America’s lowest. “If I were a Brazilian cardinal, I would be even more worried about family size and fertility rates, which are a very good augur of secularization, than Pentecostalism,” Jenkins said.Homily hint: The challenges the Catholic Church faces in Brazil, though pronounced, are not unique to that country. The ranks of disaffected Catholics seem to grow daily, for a variety of reasons. Perhaps a parish discussion on how to help stem the tide of defections would be in order. Source: An article by Simon Romero for the New York Times

brazil brazilian catholics philip jenkins universal church of the kingdom of god liberation masses marcelo rossi secularism charismatic renewal evangelicalism pentecostalism
Brazilians take to the streets

23 Jun 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In the Book of Zechariah this Sunday we hear of a "spirit of grace and petition" poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The inhabitants of São Paolo and other Brazilian cities poured on to streets and plazas across the nation this week with petitions of their own—for better social services and an end to corruption.Focused at first in cities like São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and the capital, Brasília, protests in more than 70 smaller cities were expected across the country on Thursday in a growing wave of nationwide demonstrations against poor public services, inflation, and other woes in Latin America's biggest country.The nationwide protests were sparked last week by transportation fare increases, which came as Brazil struggles with annual inflation of 6.5 percent, unleashing a tide of complaints that caught authorities off guard.Contrasting the country's high taxes with its ramshackle schools, hospitals, and poor government services, demonstrators criticize the 28 billion reais ($12.9 billion) of public money being spent on preparations for the 2014 soccerWorld Cup, to be played in 12 Brazilian cities.On Tuesday night Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who has acknowledged the legitimacy of the protesters' demands, dispatched federal troops to five Brazilian cities to help maintain order around the Confederations Cup, which began earlier this month. The international soccer tournament is a warm-up for the World Cup.Homily hint: Governments and societies always seem to find the money to host attention-grabbing events such as international sports competitions or summits. Yet when it comes to balancing budgets, it appears public services are usually on the chopping block. Let us be advocates for those who will never have the resources for box seats that at least they be able to afford a seat on the bus. Source: An article by Asher Levine and Tatiana Rami for Reuters

protests brazil demonstrations dilma rousseff
Good News for Brazilian military police

03 Nov 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness,” the Sunday psalm says. Amid concerns about brutality, Brazilian military police officers are taking Bible-study classes during their working hours to help them better cope with family stresses which may be contributing to their reported short fuses.The initiative teaches officers how to apply biblical concepts to everyday matters and encourages them to search for biblical examples which offer advice, guidance, and solutions about family issues, including how to rear children, handle finances, and build personal relationships.The military police are the civilian wing of the security forces and responsible for law and order on the streets, attending crime scenes, and arresting suspects. The biblical-based course has stirred controversy, with critics arguing it is inappropriate for Brazil as a secular state with a stated policy of neutrality on religion to promote Judeo-Christian teachings in a public institution.But a representative from the organization said while the state makes it clear that it will not favor one religion over another, that also means it will not interfere with the operation of any religion. “We see this course as a tool that can help our officers,” said military police chaplain Gisleno Farias, coordinator of the program.The program comes at a time when Brazil’s security forces are under increased pressure to restrain their heavy-handed tactics, demonstrated when anti-government protesters took to the streets in the thousands this year to demonstrate against government spending policies, political corruption, and the excessive amount of public funds invested in the construction of the 2014 FIFA World Cup stadiums and Olympic venues.Homily hint: Throughout much of Christian history, biblical stories have served as the backbone for moral and ethical training in families. Though times have changed, the need for moral guidance remains. Why not sit down with loved ones and discuss the ethical lessons of a well-known biblical story? An enriching conversation is sure to follow. Source: An article by Janet Tappin Coelho for Religion News Service

family brazil stress bible study military police gisleno farias police brutality
Brazilians don’t all share World Cup goals

01 Jun 2014 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In the second reading this Sunday, the disciples are encouraged not to be troubled if they find themselves "insulted for the name of Christ." A number of Brazilians, however, are quite troubled over the high cost of the nation's preparations to host the World Cup, saying that the lavish expenditures were inappropriate in a developing nation with so many unmet social needs. And ticket prices that are out of range of the ordinary worker are an insult to the nation's large low-income population, they say. Protestors took to the streets this week and police fired tear gas canisters to contain them as they tried to march to the stadium in Brasília where the soccer tournament's trophy was on public display Tuesday. The protest snarled rush hour traffic in the Brazilian capital adjacent to the Mané Garrincha National Stadium, the most costly arena built for the 32-nation sports event that begins in 16 days. Adding to the tension, Amazonian Indians in traditional tribal dress with bows drawn joined the protesters from the Homeless Worker's movement. The group says building stadiums to host the World Cup was too costly, caused real estate prices to soar, and forced lower-income families out of their homes. Brasília's stadium will cost $850 million when the surrounding landscaping is finished after the World Cup, city auditors said in a report published last week, almost three times the price tag first budgeted. Brazil is rushing to finish stadiums and urban transport systems in time for the World Cup. The tournament now serves as a backdrop to push for variety of causes, and bus drivers in Rio de Janeiro said on Tuesday they would start a 24-hour strike at midnight while professors marched down Sao Paulo's main thruway to demand a raise. Local soccer fans lined up outside the Brasília stadium to see the World Cup trophy, which is touring the 12 cities hosting the games, but the protest march forced authorities to cancel the trophy display and close the stadium. Homily hint: How is it that nations always seem to find the funds to host high-profile events such as World Cups and Olympics while at the same time cutting back on social welfare and educational initiatives for supposed lack of funds? Spending reveals values, on a personal as well as a social level. Challenge elected leaders to put social needs first in the budget. Source: An article by Anthony Boadle and Caroline Stauffer for Reuters

world cup brazil
U.S. and Brazil warm to climate controls

05 Jul 2015 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The psalmist is sent to bring “glad tidings to the poor,” we hear this Sunday. A week after Pope Francis highlighted global warming’s impact on the poor, the U.S. and Brazil, two of the world’s largest economies, are pledging to work together to reduce carbon emissions and fight climate change Homily hint: Pope Francis emphasized the impact of global warming on the most vulnerable among us. We do well to evaluate all public policies in light of their impact on the weakest, poorest, and most vulnerable, who always suffer first and longest. For more on climate change plans, see: US-Brazil Climate-Change Plan: More Renewables, Less Deforestation

climate change brazil