Brazilian Embassy Meeting for Local Parishioners

06 January 2009

A group of parishioners from around the Clifton Diocese are delighted to have been invited to the Brazilian Embassy in London.  The meeting aims to help fellow Catholics in South America enduring violence and intimidation.

The group will meet Secretary Luis Filipe Pereira de Carvalho, Head of Human Rights Sector, in January to discuss violent events in Brazil.

Bath-based Dr Derek Indoe, who has lived and worked in Brazil is a member of the group that includes Sue Smailes of the Clifton Diocese Justice and Peace Commission, Ozzie Ffield, former associate of the International Centre for Prison Studies at Kings College London, and Hugh Dowson, renowned for his human rights work for East Timor. 

Dr Indoe said: “Our small group of Catholics from around the West of England are pleased that Secretary Luis Filipe Pereira de Carvalho has invited us the Brazilian Embassy in London.

“We appreciate his willingness to listen to our concerns about the violent threats and intimidation to which land settlers known to Father Leo Dolan have been subjected.

“Father Leo is a priest of our diocese who has ministered in Brazil for over 35 years.  He was formerly a parish priest in Bath and Stroud.  We are travelling to London on behalf of Father Leo and in solidarity with ‘o povo’ - the people - for whom he cares so deeply. 

“Father Leo lives and works with the poor and marginalised in Brazil.  Much of his ministry has been inside some of toughest prisons in the world.  He also works with the poor who seek just a small portion of land on which to live.

“Father Leo, both in prayer and action, sees his vocation as a priest to be a witness to the Good News and the resurrected Christ in communities that are often broken and disfigured by violence.

“We hope that in some small way our meeting with Secretary Luis Filipe Pereira de Carvalho can help Father Leo and the people of the Rondonia region.

“Rondonia is a state of Brazil where the government have been actively and strategically engaged in redistributing land to those who have none.  The government has allocated some land for settlement.  However, according to reports four or five huts in a camp of innocent land settlers were set on fire and destroyed in August.  So far as we know, nobody was injured or killed but threats were made to kill all the adults in the camp and intimidate those seeking legal portions of land.”

Speaking from Brazil Father Leo said: “I’m very pleased to hear of the invitation Secretary Luis Filipe Pereira de Carvalho has extended to Dr Derek Indoe and other Catholics from the Clifton Diocese.  I hope and pray - as do the people of Rondonia - that the dialogue proves fruitful and the violence and intimidation meted out to the poorest in our society ceases.

“Thank you to all those people in the Clifton Diocese who keep their fellow Christians around the world in their prayers.”

A podcast featuring Dr Derek Indoe will be available from cliftondiocese.com from Saturday (10 January).

Hear from Father Leo - he recorded a podcast for cliftondiocese.com during a short visit to Bath last year.