Prisons don't rehabilitate, says cardinal

The Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro, Dom Orani Tempesta, announced Wednesday (Jan. 22) that the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) is organizing a walk to take place on February 2 in Maranhão. The purpose is to raise awareness for the state's ailing prison system.

Following a meeting with President Dilma Rousseff at Palácio do Planalto, he said that bishops in Maranhão are as upset as society about the situation: “The issue of prisons in Brazil remains unresolved. No matter how many new prisons and new attempts we've made, we still haven't figured out how to rehabilitate people and give them a new form of social interaction that allows them to return to society. And as they see all this going on, the bishops of Maranhão feel compelled to raise public attention to this problem in order to solve it – or at least deal with it.”

Meanwhile, he said, the Catholic church is working to enhance its anti-drug partnerships in order to “give people better living conditions.”

Concerning his visit to the president, the archbishop – who has recently been appointed cardinal – explained: “I've come to thank her for her words concerning my appointment, on Twitter as well as on TV. She was kind enough to address all the people [on Rede Vida, a Catholic TV channel]. [I'd also like to] invite her to the Consistory and the Holy Father's celebration in Rome on the 22nd and 23rd [of February]. She was delighted and might attend depending on her possibilities.”

During the meeting, Rousseff recalled the World Youth Day with excitement. Without going into detail, Tempesta said that the financial aid sent by the Pope to meet the event costs is gradually being paid off, but there will still be other debts.

Also according to him, the issue of the upcoming general elections did not come up, but he assured that the Church will keep working to raise people's awareness to vote with judgment.

Translated by Mayra Borges