Number 97, September 23, 1993

CHURCH NEWS

- Bishop Casaldaliga incardinates expelled Claretians

Dom Pedro Casaldaliga, bishop of Sao Felix do Araguaia, Para, incardinated into his diocese, six Spanish Claretians who were expelled from their congregation this past February. Dom Pedro has allowed them to continue working in Spain.

The six were responsible for a magazine called, "Mision Abierta". The doctrinal orientation of the magazine was called into question by Cardinal Ratzinger. In 1987, the six were called to the Roman Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith and also the Congregation of Religious to answer accusations that were generic in nature and unfounded. They were never informed of who made the charges. In February 1993, they were expelled from the Claretians. In a gesture of Christian love, Dom Pedro received them into his diocese.

ECONOMY

- Foreign debt payments break Brazil's economy.

The recent annual report of the World Bank gives Brazil negative marks. It states that Brazil is the exception in Latin America with an inflation rate of 1100% and a decrease in its National Gross Product. In Brazil, the report goes on to say, a great part of the income of the states is used to pay the services on the public debt and not to better social services.

Federal Deputy, Carlos Lupi, received the following information from the federal government regarding the foreign debt.

From 1983 - 1992, Brazil has paid $130.1 billion in interest and service of the foreign debt to creditor banks. The year in which it paid less was in 1990 when it paid $8.1 billion. This was due to the fact that Brazil did not have an agreement with the banks that year. Since 1991 and with an agreement with the banks, Brazil paid $12 billion and in 1992 the payments were even greater - $12.5 billion.

Last year, 1992, the Brazilian treasury marked $2.3 billion for health and sanitation. Of this amount, half was to pay for interest. Federal Deputy Lupi considers it hipocracy on the part of the federal government to talk about programs against hunger and misery when they are transfering billions of dollars in order to pay the interest on the debt.

How does this report of the World Bank and the hundreds of billions of dollars paid by Brasil on interest and service of the debt affect the poor? The President of the National Confederation of Agriculture Workers (CONTAG), Francisco Urbano, defends organized pillaging in the Northeast where hunger and misery are more predominate. He said,"To take food where it is in order to kill hunger cannot be considered a crime". Urbano was called by the Minister of Justice to explain what he meant by "organized pillaging". The president of CONTAG stated that violence is the hunger and misery caused by the authorities and politicians - the elite of the Northeast - looking shamelessly on the people dying from hunger and hoping for the up-coming elections to make promises and asking the hungry for their vote. This is a crime.

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