AMERICA/BRAZIL - Covid: almost 500 thousand deaths, the prayer of the Church and protests in the face of the mismanagement of the pandemic

Minas (Agenzia Fides) - Brazil is approaching the tragic threshold of 500 thousand victims of the new coronavirus. In this context of pain and the need for hope and comfort, the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) is preparing prayers, tributes and social mobilizations to remember the many Brazilians who have died and to underline the message that "every life counts". A mass is scheduled for Saturday, June 19 in Rio de Janeiro, while all the dioceses will be invited to ring the bells at 3 p.m., the hour of Mercy. The Mass will be presided over by Mgr. Joel Portella Amado, Auxiliary of the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro, who said: "it is an act of solidarity, of hope, of commitment, to try to make Brazil a little better". All the people who, in some way, have the slightest sensitivity in their hearts should stop and reflect at this moment, "500 thousand is a symbolic number, but half a million people are still many", the Bishop pointed out. The images of the many demonstrators who took to the streets less than 15 days ago to demand the impeachment of President Jair Bolsonaro, held responsible for managing the pandemic defined as "disastrous" which has made Brazil l one of the epicenters of Covid-19 and has so far caused the death of more than 490,000 people, recording 17 and a half million infections. Currently, 10% of the population is vaccinated. The demonstrations, the most impressive since the beginning of the health emergency, were organized by left-wing parties and by trade union and student associations in many cities, from São Paulo to Belo Horizonte, from Recife to the capital Brasília, up in dozens of small towns across the country. The Brazilian president, meanwhile, said last week that the actual number of coronavirus deaths in the country could be 50% of the official toll. "I will give you first-hand information: the Court of Auditors does not confirm the number of deaths from Covid last year", said the Head of State, according to what was reported by news agencies. Brazil is at the center of the world's media attention for the Covid situation and the mismanagement of the pandemic. The health crisis has serious political implications: more than seventy requests for impeachment against President Bolsonaro have been submitted to the Chamber of Deputies, but so far none have been answered. The Catholic Church has raised its voice on many occasions to report this situation. The current moment requires competence and clarity, therefore "speeches and attitudes that deny the reality of the pandemic, ignore health measures and threaten the democratic rule of law, are unacceptable", said the Bishops' Conference (see Fides, 17/4/2021). Among the many positions taken by individual Bishops during this pandemic period, the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Belo Horizonte, Vicente de Paula Ferreira, recently used social media on Monday, June 14, to express once again his disappointment regarding the actions of President Bolsonaro. "You who entered Jerusalem on a donkey, give us courage to face the tyrant who is killing our people. Deliver us, Lord, from the grip of death. It is too heavy", wrote the Bishop. Monsignor Vicente de Paula Ferreira holds a doctorate in Religious Sciences from the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF), a post-doctorate in Theology from the Jesuit Faculty of Philosophy and Theology (FAJE). He graduated in philosophy at the UFJF and in theology at the FAJE. Author of several books, member of the Juiz de Fora Society of Psychoanalytic Studies, he was a formator of the Redemptorist students in their theologate in Belo Horizonte. He was very close to the communities in the area at the time of the Brumadinho tragedy, when the Córrego do Feijão dam broke (see Fides, 7/2/2019) which caused hundreds of victims. (CE) (Agenzia Fides, 16/6/2021)

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