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Brazil

World’s largest Catholic country split over decriminalising marijuana use

March 18, 2024

SÃO PAULO – With Brazil’s Supreme Court and Congress at odds over the decriminalisation of marijuana possession, the same clash runs through the Church in the world’s largest Catholic country, with some urging a hard line and others insisting the last thing Brazil needs is a new “war on drugs”. Lawyer Miguel Vidigal, who heads

Catholic hospital’s refusal to implant contraceptive device generates conscientious objection debate in Brazil

January 29, 2024

SÃO PAULO – A refusal by a Catholic hospital in Brazil to implant a contraceptive intrauterine device in a 41-year-old woman has sparked a wide debate in the world’s largest Catholic country, both inside and outside the confines of the Church. The controversy erupted when a São Paulo-based content provider named Leonor Macedo took to

Football icon Ronaldo Nazário baptised and welcomed into Catholic Church

September 13, 2023

International football star Ronaldo Nazário was baptised on Tuesday 12 September in his home country of Brazil. Announcing on his Instagram to some 30 million followers, the two-time Ballon D’Or winner and former Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC Milan, and Inter Milan striker revealed he was baptised, confirmed and given first communion in the ceremony by

Outrage in Brazil after archbishop gives communion to Muslim sheikh

September 07, 2023

SÃO PAULO – During a funeral Mass of a major figure in the Brazilian Church on August 28, a Muslim sheikh ended up receiving communion, sparking controversy among part of the local community and traditionalist Catholics all over Brazil, who called what happened a “sacrilege”. Cardinal Geraldo Majella Agnelo, who played a central role in

What does Lula’s victory mean for Catholics in Brazil?

November 01, 2022

Last weekend, Brazil’s former President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, defeated the “Trump of the tropics”, Jair Bolsonaro, to become the next President of Brazil. Winning by only 50.9 per cent, however, his victory was far from convincing and points to a country more divided than ever, even as it pivots to the left. It

How the Catholic Church can reverse its collapse in Latin America

July 29, 2022

Latin America has long been associated with Catholicism. For the first time in history, the head of the Church is a Latin American. To this day, Brazil and Mexico rank as the second and third most Catholic countries on earth, while the Church has shaped both the social mores and politics of the region. Yet,

Brazilian Church leaders increasingly critical of Brazil’s Bolsonaro

July 08, 2021

According to the Italian-born Bishop Adriano Ciocca Vasino of the Prelature of São Félix do Araguaia, there is a clear progression “from statements to concrete actions” by the Brazilian Church in relation to the Bolsonaro administration. “The situation looks intolerable. In a country with a minimum level of democracy, the current state of affairs would have changed long ago,” he told the Catholic Herald.

Brazil’s Bishops Sound Alarm over Covid-19 Prison Dangers

May 10, 2021

Inmates’ relatives outside the Dom Bosco Juvenile Detention Centre, where detainees rioted in April of 2020 after authorities suspended family visits to prevent the spread of coronavirus. April 18, 2020. (Photo by MAURO PIMENTEL / AFP) (Photo by MAURO PIMENTEL/AFP via Getty Images) Inmates’ relatives, pastoral workers decry insufficient information, safety measures By Eduardo