By Chris Starr

(Second In A Series)

The work toward a common goal for the Church in Brazil and the military-controlled government has a long way to go, but great strides have been made according to Cardinal Agnelo Rossi, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the evangelization of the Peoples.

The changes needed to clarify Church-State problems in Brazil are “taking place,” Cardinal Rossi said during a press conference held after he met with Brazilian President Ernesto Geisel, a Protestant.

The Brazilian Bishops’ Conference has consistently criticized violations of human rights by the Brazilian military government. The bishops of the impoverished northeast region, led by Archbishop “Dom” Helder of Olinda and Recife, have scored the unequal distribution of wealth due to the military’s economic policies.

Dom Helder, the subject of a recent article in TIME magazine, has been dubbed “Pastor of the Poor”. He has been so ignored by the censored press in Brazil, TIME reports, that many educated Brazilians were surprised to find him still alive.

Named Archbishop of Olinda and Recife in 1964, Dom Helder has been a leader in projects to help the poor of his native country. The projects include a no-interest lending institution, apartments for the poor, and other social services. In an act demonstrating his solidarity with the poor he moved out of his episcopal place and now lives in a two-room apartment adjacent to a local parish Church.

The actions of Dom Helder, his fellow bishops and priests are meeting a need that has been described by Father J. Bryan Hehir as the “threat of Third World developing nations.”

Father Hehir, head of the division of Justice and Peace of the U.S. Catholic Conference, has called on U.S. foreign policy makers to give equal weight to the concerns of underdeveloped nations as well as the economic and military powers

For the United States, he explained in a recent editorial for the NEW CATHOLIC WORLD, this means giving equal weight to the relations with the Third World as well as to our allies.

“The moral imperative to confront the consequences of our economic, political, corporate and military actions in the Third World,” Father Hehir said, “can be met only through and with an understanding of and interest in the fabric of policy as it is shaped in the strategic and economic triangles.”

Father Hehir further observed that if this concern was not shown a threat would materialize in the same manner as happened during the Arab oil embargo.

Brazil controls more than half of South America’s land area and population and possesses vast untapped natural resources and an unlimited supply of cheap labor. Its role as a rising contender in world affairs seems eminent. This “new nation” continues to emerge although the gap between the very rich and the very poor countries continues to widen and some of the new capital investment has eliminated jobs instead of creating them.

Although no major breakthroughs in Church-State relations have been reported in Brazil, and allegations of some arbitrary arrests and torture continue, the conflict has been toned down and the military government has performed some acts of good will to the Church. The recent release and return to France of French Father Francois Jentel, who have been condemned to 10 years imprisonment for alleged subversion, was one such act.

The government of President Geisel has steadily improved its relations with the Church. The outspoken criticism of the government and harsh repression of lay leaders, priests and a bishop had brought Church-State relations to the point of crisis during the last months of the administration of former president Emilio Garrastazy Medici, a Catholic. Medici left office in March after the military voted President Geisel a five-year term.