But the CNBB Did Not Want To… – Folha de S. Paulo, May 16, 1977
by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira
How mistaken are those who think that the differences within the national episcopate concern issues in the clouds.
Quite the contrary. These are profound religious issues with serious consequences for the life of the Church and, therefore, for the country.
An example of this came to light in the recent CNBB statement on divorce.
The CNBB Presidency and the Episcopal Pastoral Commission represent one tendency. The Bishop of Campos, Antônio de Castro Mayer, is a high expression of another tendency.
On April 28, this prelate sent the CNBB president a telegram with suggestions on the divorce bill currently under debate in the House. The following day, the press released a statement from CNBB’s Presidency and Pastoral Commission.
A comparison between the prelate of Campos’ aspirations and the CNBB statement clearly shows how divergent their paths and thoughts are.
It is possible the CNBB went unnoticed amid the whirlwind of daily life. I will skip the two lengthy opening paragraphs, which cover everything except divorce, and transcribe the final paragraph for you. The statement reads:
“The Itaici Assembly published a special message on the family, condemning once again the attempt to introduce civil divorce among us. Unfortunately, in an attitude that one of our major newspapers rightly dubbed ‘indecent haste,’ sectors of the National Congress are rushing to make arrangements that the conscience of well-informed voters and history will not forgive. Let the members of both parties listen to the Church’s voice and warning; it does not seek to defend its own institutional interests but rather the true good of the Brazilian people through a decisive defense of the family and moral laws.”
Held in February of this year, the Itaici Assembly referred only briefly and blandly to a more dynamic statement published in 1975. As a result, to reap the benefits of this dynamism, readers in 1977 must turn to 1975 newspapers to learn what the CNBB said. How many readers do the leaders of this entity imagine will undertake this complicated research?
With all due respect, I would say that nothing less or worse could be said about the subject.
Without yet delving into the merits of the issue, the note censures the “indecent haste” of sectors in the National Congress to advance the matter and seeks support from “one of our major newspapers.”
Then, does the statement warn the congressmen who advocate divorce about God’s punishment? No, only about punishment by men: they will not be forgiven by the “conscience of well-informed voters and history.”
Finally, the note calls on parliamentarians to listen to “the voice and warning of the Church.” It offers two arguments for this: 1) the Church is above suspicion because it does not seek to defend its institutional interests. This is a strange circumlocution that suggests those who vote for divorce do not seriously harm the Church; 2) it acts for a patriotic reason, namely, “the true good of the Brazilian people.” In other words, it is not primarily motivated by love of the Law of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the eternal salvation of souls that the CNBB intervenes in the matter. With this, it omits its highest purpose at the very moment it launches its appeal against divorce, which should be dramatic.
The note contains no quotation from the Old or New Testament, the Fathers or Doctors of the Church, or popes or saints. Only from “one of our major newspapers.”
The great indecision evident even among pro-divorce congressmen stems from the displeasure that divorce can cause within Catholic opinion. Therefore, it is up to the CNBB to revive this holy and legitimate displeasure. Yet to do this, it has found nothing but this secular and weak argument! And that at the very end of the Note!
I do not believe the CNBB will mobilize the fervent, faithful, and combative Catholic opposition against divorce that it should awaken by having its spiritual leaders address our faithful on temporal concerns.
Let us now look at another voice emerging within the Catholic camp. What a difference in thinking and approaches!
Let me transcribe Bishop Antônio de Castro Mayer’s telegram to the CNBB, as reported in Folha da Tarde on April 30th. This high episcopal body set aside the telegram’s wise advice and did precisely the opposite.
“Since the distinguished members of the Senate and the House are aware that, by the nature of their mandate, they must express the wishes and aspirations of the electorate in the Legislative Branch, I am convinced that they will not approve divorce if they believe the majority of the Brazilian people do not want it.
“The revulsion of this notable majority will be revived and made evident if CNBB’s supreme body publishes widely and urgently a document showing that the approval of divorce seriously violates God’s Law, disturbs the natural order, deeply harms public and private morality, shakes the family, and ruins the nation.
“I therefore express to Your Excellency my desire that the CNBB publish such a statement in a special communiqué devoted solely to this matter and unrelated to any other topics.”
If the CNBB had complied with this request, it would have witnessed a day of glory, while divorce advocates would have faced a day of defeat in their long battle.
It is with thoughts and attitudes like these that one attracts the blessings of Heaven and the applause of the faithful on earth.
