Catholic bishops across the country launch letter against Bolsonaro's re-election: "despises the poor"

 

Catholic bishops across the country launch letter against Bolsonaro's re-election: "despise the poor" Read letter in full

Caroline Oliveira, Brasil de Fato - A group of Brazilian Catholic bishops launched, this Monday morning (24), a letter against the reelection of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) to the Presidency of the Republic, without directly mentioning the president.

 

 

Entitled “Bishops of Dialogue for the Kingdom”, the collective brings together bishops of the Catholic Church from various regions of Brazil and, in the document, states that the second round of elections puts the Brazilian population “faced with a dramatic challenge” that does not allow neutrality.

 

 The context, according to the religious, imposes a position on “two projects in Brazil, one democratic and the other authoritarian; one committed to the defense of life, starting from the impoverished, the other committed to the 'economy that kills' (Pope Francis, The Joy of the Gospel, 53); one that takes care of education, health, work, food, culture, another that belittles public policies, because it despises the poor”, they point out.

 

The bishops also point out that the current government “turned its back on the most needy population, especially in the time of the pandemic”, and that, together with its supporters, it abused “the name of God to legitimize its acts and still use it for electoral purposes. ”, further condemning the dissemination of untrue facts. "We have lived for four years under the reign of lies, secrecy and false information. Fake news (false news broadcast as if it were true) has become the 'official' form of

Bolsonaro makes a loser speech and announces a resource to disrupt the elections

“While saying 'God above all', the President insulted women, made fun of people who died of suffocation, in addition to showing no compassion for the almost 700,000 lives lost to Covid-19 and the 33 million hungry people in your country. We remind you that Brazil had left the hunger map in 2014, as a result of the social programs of previous governments”, they say.

 

 In the end, the bishops ask that the Brazilian population see “Jesus in the face of every person, especially the poor who suffer and not in human authorities who manipulate them in the name of an ideological project of political and economic power”.

 

 

 Check out the letter in full:

 

 “THE GRAVITY OF THE SECOND ROUND OF THE 2022 ELECTIONS

 

 Brothers and sisters,

 

 

 We are bishops of the Catholic Church from various regions of Brazil, in deep communion with Pope Francis and his magisterium and in full communion with the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil, the CNBB, which, in the exercise of its evangelizing mission, always defends of little ones, justice and peace. We led the writing of a first Letter to the People of God, in July 2020. Faced with the gravity of the current moment, we address you again.

 

 The second round of the 2022 presidential elections presents us with a dramatic challenge. We must choose, consciously and calmly, because there is no room for neutrality when it comes to deciding on two projects for Brazil, one democratic and the other authoritarian; one committed to the defense of life, starting from the impoverished, the other committed to the “economy that kills” (Pope Francis, The Joy of the Gospel, 53); one that takes care of education, health, work, food, culture, another that belittles public policies, because it despises the poor. The two candidates have already governed Brazil and have given different results for the people and for nature, which we can analyze.

 

 Enlightened by the social and political demands of our Christian faith and the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church, we need to speak clearly and directly about what is really at stake right now. Jesus commanded us to be “the light of the world” and the light must not be hidden (Mt 5:15).

 

 We are witnesses that the current government, which seeks re-election, has turned its back on the most needy population, especially in the time of the pandemic. Just on the eve of the election, he launched a temporary program to help the needy. The 59th General Assembly of the CNBB noted “the alarming carelessness with the Earth, the latent, explicit and growing violence, potentiated by the flexibilization of the possession and carrying of weapons [...]. Among other aspects of these times are unemployment and lack of access to quality education for all. Hunger is certainly the most cruel and criminal of them, because food is an inalienable right” (Message from the CNBB to the Brazilian People on the Current Moment). Life is not a priority for this government.

 

 The head of government and his supporters, mainly political and religious, abused the name of God to legitimize their actions and still use it for electoral purposes. The use of God's name in vain is a disrespect to the 2nd commandment. The abuse of religion for electoral purposes was condemned in an official note from the presidency of the CNBB (10/11/2022), for which “religious manipulation always distorts the values ​​of the Gospel and takes the focus away from the real problems that need to be debated and faced. in our Brazil”.

While saying “God above all”, the President insulted women, made fun of people who died of asphyxiation, in addition to showing no compassion for the almost 700,000 lives lost to Covid-19 and the 33 million hungry people in his country. country. We remind you that Brazil had left the hunger map in 2014, as a result of the social programs of previous governments. In practice, this appeal to God is a lie, as it does not fulfill what Jesus presented as the greatest commandment: to love God above all things and your neighbor as yourself (Mt 22, 37). Anyone who says he loves God but hates his brother is a "liar" (1 Jn 4:20).

The speeches and measures that aim to arm all people and eliminate opponents are in contradiction both with the 5th commandment, which says “thou shalt not kill”, and with the Social Doctrine of the Church, which proposes disarmament and says that “the enormous increase of arms represents a serious threat to stability and peace” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 508).

We have lived four years under the reign of lies, secrecy and false information. Fake news (fake news broadcast as if it were true) has become the “official” form of communication between the Government and the people. This violates the 8th commandment, not to bear false witness, but it also shows who is the true "lord" of those who perversely dedicate themselves to spreading falsehoods and hiding information of public interest. Jesus says that the Devil is the father of lies (Jn 8:44), while He is the “way, the truth and the life” (Jn 14:6).

The Message to the Brazilian People, from the 59th General Assembly of the CNBB, also warned us that “our young democracy needs to be protected, through a broad national pact”. However, the current government and the parliamentarians that support it threaten to modify the composition of the Federal Supreme Court to create a majority of support for its acts. The control of the Legislative and Judiciary powers has always been the decisive step for the implantation of dictatorships in the world.

 Christians are able to analyze which of the two projects in dispute is closer to humanist principles and integral ecology. It is enough to analyze with data and numbers and ask: which of the competing candidates valued health, education and overcoming poverty and misery the most and which one withdrew funds from the SUS, from education and ended up with social programs? Who took care of nature, especially the Amazon, and who encouraged the burning of forests, illegal timber trafficking and mining on indigenous lands?

 It is not a religious dispute, nor a mere party option, nor choosing the perfect candidate, but a decision about the future of our country, democracy and the people. The Church does not have a party, nor will it ever have, but it has a side, and it will always have: the side of justice and peace, of truth and solidarity, of love and equality, of religious freedom and the secular State, of social inclusion and good living for all. Therefore, its ministers cannot fail to take a stand when it comes to defending the life of human beings and nature. Our motivation is ethical and does not stem from following a political leader, nor from personal preferences, but comes from fidelity to the Gospel of Jesus, the Social Doctrine of the Church and the prophetic teaching of Pope Francis.

God bless the Brazilian people and the Holy Spirit of wisdom and truth enlighten our minds and hearts, as we vote in this second round of the 2022 elections. Let us see Jesus in the face of each person, especially the poor who suffer and not in human authorities who manipulate them in the name of an ideological project of political and economic power.

 On October 24, 2022, Memorial of Saint Anthony Maria Claret, Bishop

Source.Brasil247.com