Brazilian archbishop knocks land invasions by peasant group

Published: 2004-05-07

SAO PAULO, Brazil (CNS) -- Archbishop Aldo di Cillo Pagotto of Paraiba has strongly criticized a landless peasant group supported by the church's Pastoral Land Commission and a large majority of Brazilian clergy. At a bishops' conference meeting in early May, Archbishop Pagotto condemned the recent wave of land invasions promoted by the Movement of Landless Peasants. The archbishop told the bishops that the methods used by the movement did not contribute to resolving the problems faced by landless peasants. "I am against the land invasion by those who see the agrarian reform as an ideology," he said. Archbishop Pagotto said his views are in line with Pope John Paul II, who in 2002 told Brazilian bishops that the church's preferential option for the poor and calls for reform do not include accepting actions such as occupying the land or property of others.

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