“Say Just One Word…” – Folha de S. Paulo, July 1, 1980

 

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

 

Twelve intense days lie ahead. Depending on how events unfold, they will likely be some of the most important in our history. They will definitely be very intense for His Holiness John Paul II, who will spend them in Brazil, and also for us, who have the honor of hosting him.

I say “also for us” because the visit of a head of state usually produces nothing more than the customary demonstrations and festivities that momentarily distract the people who receive him. A pope’s visit, however, reaches both deeper and higher. The population sees in him the bearer of the Church’s supreme magisterium, the one to whom they are ordinarily bound to conform their thinking. Thus, if the Pontiff so wishes, a single address on a given subject can decisively shape what more than ninety percent of Brazilians think, desire, or undertake in that matter.

Now, I’ve heard that, according to a daily newspaper in one of our major cities, John Paul II plans to give no fewer than 70 (yes, seventy) speeches during his twelve days here. I was skeptical because the total seemed astonishing: six speeches a day, and on two days off, “only” five!

Typically, speeches of this kind are delivered by distinguished visitors at events such as tributes, the inauguration of public monuments and charitable projects, or during visits to notable institutions. When it involves the pope, these speeches are mainly given during liturgical ceremonies in front of crowds or at gatherings for specific groups like bishops, priests, Catholic organizations, or professional groups.

This list shows how many speeches a pontifical visit can generate. It also explains the interest of various sectors in shaping the Pontiff’s agenda during his stay with us. It is important to influence the list of topics he will address. It is about indirectly influencing the final decision on our course of action regarding specific matters.

In any case, I thought, even if John Paul II does not give all 70 speeches (breaking an unprecedented record in the Church’s two thousand years of history), he will definitely have many opportunities to speak to Brazilians.

To better understand everything His Holiness would say among us, even in its most subtle nuances, I took a few days off to a friend’s farm to read in L’Osservatore Romano the full text of all his speeches and addresses during his three days in France. I discovered there were thirty. In Paris, the lively and vigorous Polish Pontiff had already surpassed the record I thought unlikely for Brazil. So, it is fitting that he will give us 70 speeches.

That’s the extent of the speeches count.

Having studied the French texts, I can already predict their quality. Those I am reading strike a pleasing balance between the density of themes and the seriousness of the presentation, and on the other hand, the clear simplicity and natural, fluent clarity of the language. All this is conveyed without forgetting a touch of affection, very characteristic of Polish sensibility, shining through here and there.

On that note, I can’t help but notice how much ground the ‘civilization of the image’ is gaining in Brazil. Since John Paul II was elected, our media hasn’t stopped praising him. I see photographs of him doing or saying something in almost every publication. However, I read little, or almost nothing, about the content of his words or the dominance—perhaps even the monopoly—of image and news over reflection.

This is unfortunate. I analyzed the Pontiff’s speech in Puebla and shared in this newspaper the questions, joys, and hopes I experienced regarding it. I also read His Holiness’s New Year’s message on human rights—a document that alone could define an entire pontificate. Why, then, do they say so little about what a Pontiff who speaks so much has to say? Everyone is aware of his disposition, temperament, attitudes, and manners. But who truly understands his thoughts?

In Paris, John Paul II shared his views on several sensitive issues, and what he says reflects deep, logical, and distinctive thinking and a plan of action. Everything suggests he will also clarify this in Brazil. As I prepare to study the 70 speeches he might give here by reviewing the 30 he delivered there, certain desires form in my heart as a Catholic and a Brazilian. And some perplexities are beginning to arise.

Let me start by addressing the perplexities.

I consider the challenges our esteemed visitor likely faces in trying to understand the reality of facts and situations in our country, which is rich in nuances and diversity but short on statistics, informational documentation, and more.

I imagine his disappointment, for example, when, trying to learn about rural Brazil, he reads the document “The Church and Land Issues,” so bombastic and lacking data, in which the CNBB calls for radical land reform (and proposes an urban reform project for 1981). What did the Pontiff find about the Brazilian agrarian reality that was real and documented?

Nothing. Or almost nothing.

Will he find much if he searches beyond the subversive poetry of Most Rev. Pedro Casaldáliga, bishop-prelate of São Félix do Araguaia, on the indigenous issue?

Visiting a Rio de Janeiro slum, will he be informed of what is sadly real, but also, often, illusory in some aspects of the slum dwellers’ lives?

In short, if the premises of a line of reasoning are incomplete and sometimes not even objective, even the most insightful thinkers could fail to reach a true conclusion. What can John Paul II accomplish with so little data, much of which is controversial?

In light of this, I ask: Did the Brazilian foreign ministry give the Pontiff the necessary detailed information about our socio-economic situation in an organized and comprehensive manner? And regarding the broader implications of the communist threat amid the country’s religious and economic crises? Did our major class-based organizations, whether private or public, do so?

I very much hope I am wrong, but this fear leaves me perplexed.

From perplexities, I turn to longings. In this article, where I have allowed myself ample elaboration, I feel compelled to distill everything into a single point. How passionate, how intense it is! If I were to compare it to a geyser, I suspect even that image would fall short.

So far, the Universal Church has never faced a crisis as severe as the one it confronts now. In the West, this crisis affects various aspects of spirituality, even among non-believers. It is therefore far more serious than nuclear war because, as long as the world exists, disasters in the spiritual realm will surpass those in the material realm, and that is significant. In fact, no one can guarantee that the world will reach the 21st century without experiencing a nuclear, chemical, or biological war.

Partly because of all this, and partly due to local reasons, Brazil faces a crisis that could turn out to be the worst in our history. Economic factors play a significant role in this crisis, but only ecclesiastical subversion can prevent it from being resolved.

The successor of Paul VI visits Brazil as the Church undergoes a mysterious process of “self-destruction” and the “smoke of Satan” has entered it, as Paul VI himself warned. But, oh, wonder! In the country’s most diverse sectors of opinion, everyone without exception awaits his words with more hope than at any other time in history.

My desire, then, is summed up by the centurion’s plea: “Just say the word, and my country will be saved.”