Activist Bishop Dom Luciano Honored by Brazilian Congress

Dom Luciano Mendes de Almeida received tribute this past May 17 in BrasÀ­lia, the capital of Brazil, during a Special Session of the Chamber of Deputies.

Dom Luciano was Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Mariana, state of Minas Gerais, for 16 years, and was president of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) between 1987 and 1994.


The bishop played a decisive role in the negotiation process for the Federal Constitution of 1988 and in the episode where the daily “O Estado de S.Paulo” made accusations against the Indianist Missionary Council (Cimi).


In 1987, the newspaper published reports about the alleged role of religious missions as a front for the interests of foreign mining companies.


After six days of articles which directly accused Cimi, CNBB managed to get the Courts to oblige the newspaper to publish the organization’s right of reply.


During the tribute in Brasí­lia, which lasted four hours, Dom Luciano said in a calm and leisurely speech that he found the meaning of solemnity in people’s causes.


“I was thinking about the meaning of what we are doing here. And I saw that it is the causes that matter: land, work, the indigenous populations, the Negro slaves,” said the bishop.


“At this moment I am someone who helps these causes to be present in this house,” he finished.


Around 200 Landless Rural Workers connected to the Landless Movement who had walked from Goiânia to Brasí­lia on the National March for Agrarian Reform took part in the Session. Churchgoers and politicians from the Mariana region, in Minas Gerais. were also there.


“Your presence has brought me very special happiness and has also created a stronger commitment,” the bishop said, thanking the participants for coming.


Dom Luciano also remembered absent friends and militants, including factory worker Santo Dias, the Guarani-Kaiowá Marçal de Souza, and the American Sister Dorothy Stang.


Cimi – Indianist Missionary Council – www.cimi.org.br

Tags:

You May Also Like

Brazil Opens South America’s Largest Thermoelectric Plant

Petrobras inaugurated, Wednesday, May 31, the Governor Leonel Brizola thermoelectric plant, powered by natural ...

Brazilian Doctor Zilda Arns, the founder and coordinator of Pastoral das Crianças

Brazil’s Work with Children Spreads to Africa, Asia and Latin America

In East Timor, southeast Asia, 8,500 children are health-assisted by a group of volunteers. ...

In Brazil, 30% of Inmates Are 24 or Younger. Still There’s No Program to Educate Them

The report,”Moving Agreements on from Paper,” drafted by more than 40 NGO’s (non-governmental organizations) ...

Wal-Mart to Open 28 New Units in Brazil This Year

The Wal-Mart Brazil supermarket chain will invest 400 million reais (US$ 203.8 million) in ...

Up and Coming

Yes, there are prosperous and even rich Brazilian blacks. And they are not just ...

Brazilian presidential candidate Geraldo Alckmin

Brazil, Roll Up Your Sleeve to Defeat Alckmin and the US Empire

We the social movements must mobilize, roll up our sleeves and go to the ...

Brazil’s Central Bank Sees Inflation Going Lower to 4.32% in 2006

This year’s Brazilian Broad Consumer Price Index (IPCA) is expected to register an inflation ...

Brazil Learns It Needs Partners in the Arab World to Win That Market

To conquer the Arab market the Brazilian fashion sector companies's best option is to ...

LETTERS

With 95 percent of next year’s budget already allotted, which is binding for the ...

US Called Immoral Polluter by Protesters in Brazil

Representatives of social movements, unions, and environmental organizations protested in front of the American ...