A letter signed by 152 Brazilian Catholic bishops harshly criticizing President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration and his unsuccessful handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has been spurring intense controversy among the country’s Catholics since its release in late July.
As various groups expressed their support or disapproval of the document, backed by about a third of the country’s bishops, some in the church began to fear that Brazil’s sharp political polarization could be affecting its episcopate.
Titled “Letter to the People of God,” a draft of the document was first leaked to the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo on July 26. The letter says Brazil is facing “an unprecedented health care crisis” and a “devastating economic collapse,” which are the results of “the Federal Government’s inability and incompetence to coordinate its actions.”
The document generated strong reactions, especially on social media, but also in the church. “There has been an outraged reaction from some bishops,” Fr Antônio Manzatto, a professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Sao Paulo, told NCR.