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| Reference Material |
| Brazilian bishops say Church should rethink compulsory celibacy By the Associated Press May 2, 2002, Today BRASILIA, BRAZIL. Diverging from Catholic Church doctrine, prominent Brazilian bishops are urging the Vatican to rethink its policy on celibacy for priests, newspapers reported. While that view is not endorsed by the Brazilian Bishops Conference, the Church�s ruling body here, Bishop Angelico Bernardino of the southern city of Blumenau said celibacy shouldn�t be made compulsory if the Church hopes to attract more priests. The Church �must rethink obligatory celibacy for priests in Latin America because no one can be forced to be celibate,� Bernardino was quoted as saying in an interview Tuesday with the Rio daily O Globo. Bernardino said a shortage of priests has curtailed some Church activities in Brazil, the world�s largest Roman Catholic country. Most of Brazil�s 170 million citizens are Catholics. Days earlier, the former archbishop of Sao Paolo, Cardinal Paulo Evaristo Arns, told O Globo that celibacy should be �an option�. �Celibacy is a Church legislation and not from Christ,� Arns was quoted as saying�. Interest in the issue of priest celibacy has risen in the wake of recent lawsuits against American priests accused of child abuse. The (Brazilian) Bishops Conference, however, said the issue did not come up at its annual meeting last week and that the Brazilian Church follows the dictates of Pope John Paul II, who has said that celibacy should be �carefully safeguarded.� *** |