Pope urges religious leaders to denounce 'blasphemy' of violence in God's name
- Mar 6, 2021
A draft letter signed by a group of 146 Brazilian bishops with severe criticism on President Jair Bolsonaro was published by the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo on July 26.
With the objective of giving more visibility to the increased violence against those who defend social and environmental rights, Brazil’s Catholic Church has launched the “Life by a Thread” campaign.
As deforestation increases in the Amazon and the COVID-19 coronavirus spreads throughout the region, the Brazilian Church has decided to create a campaign to raise awareness on the need to stop the destruction of the rainforest and its peoples.
In the past few months, there has been an escalation in the number of incursions of territories traditionally occupied by artisanal fishing communities in Brazil, according to the Bishops’ Conference’s Fishermen Pastoral Council (CPP).
Church leaders have come under increasing attack in Brazil, as the country’s polarization gets worse under conservative President Jair Bolsonaro’s controversial handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A video conference between the managers of Catholic television and radio stations in Brazil and President Jair Bolsonaro on May 21 has spurred strong reaction of the the country’s bishops’ conference.
As COVID-19 reached remote indigenous lands in Brazil’s Amazon, the government agency responsible for protecting native people brushed off calls for action, focusing instead on waging ideological battles, according to agents from the institution itself and others.