Brazil's Catholic Church wants to increase dialogue with society

Brazil's Episcopal Confederation (CNBB) launched its traditional annual Brotherhood Campaign on Wednesday (Feb. 18). The theme for this year is “Brotherhood: Church and Society”, and the slogan, “I came to serve.” The purpose of this year's campaign is to draw on the Gospel to bring the church into closer dialogue with the society in service to the Brazilian people.

The Brotherhood Campaign was introduced by the Catholic Church in Brazil in 1962 and has taken place every year beginning on Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent (the period of the church calendar year leading up to Easter). It is designed to raise awareness among Catholics – and the society at large – to social problems found in Brazil, and includes fund-raising activities.

“We want to help create a more humane and godlike society. This is the purpose of our campaign,” said Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, secretary-general for CNBB. During the launch ceremony for this year's campaign, Agrarian Development Minister Patrus Ananias emphasized the government's commitment to empowering the poor. “We are advocates for the poor, not for poverty. We want the poor to be free. We want people to play the leading roles in their own lives and stories,” he said.

According to the executive secretary of the National Council of Christian Churches, Pastor Romi Márcia Bencke, this year's theme “challenges us to a global ethic of responsibility. It inspires us to think about our roles as churches and religions.”

Marcos Vinícius Furtado, chairman of the Federal Council of the Bar Association of Brazil, pointed out: “We must take the next step to grow out of this unfair political system we have today. All institutions must actively share this effort towards a fairer political system and work together for dignity, justice, and equality.”

Translated by Mayra Borges