Latest from Father Leo in Brazil

2 March 2011

As we look forward to Lent our priest ministering in Brazil since 1971, Father Leo Dolan writes for cliftondiocese.com about how Lent is marked where he is.

On Friday 11 March and throughout the coming Lent we will celebrate the opening of the 48th campaign for fraternity in Brazil. This year the theme is fraternity (or brotherhood) and life on our planet. The punch lines will be ‘all nature is groaning for liberation’ ... as we can pray in Romans 8.

Here in Osasco, Sao Paulo we continue what started in a very simple way in Natal Rio Grande do Norte about 3,500 kilometres from here.

It all started in a very small way when three priests began a campaign to help the poor. That was in 1961.  Three years later it was adopted and enriched by the National Conference of the Bishops of Brazil (CNBB). In a few short years it spread to most of the dioceses in this vast country  inspired by the national plan for evangelisation, documents like Rerum Novarum and of course the reality of our people.

The first national plan of the brotherhood campaign was in 1964. Every year since then we have celebrated this great religious, social, educational, prophetic event for all peoples. The first campaigns were developed for interior renewal, and were oriented to ecclesial, community and personal change in Lent. The campaign in1964 spoke of Church renewal - harmony and active participation.

This year will have a cry from the heart “Save Our Planet”.  We can say that our inspiration is Romans 8 where St Paul tells us all creation is groaning for liberation.

In July last year I was at the basic community assembly in Porto Velho about 50 hours by bus from here. The over 3,000 leaders mostly of the Amazonian forest communities were there to show us what they are doing. We need the joy and fibre of these people as they showed us the way, optimism, happiness in their work and of course harmony. Dom Moacic Greci Archbishop of the Amazon region told us: “We are a simple people from places unknown to most, doing common things with extraordinary love to create a marvellous impact in the communities.”   You can see that their outlook is different from most.

This year’s campaign is to try to make it clearer that we must work together, sharing our knowledge, knowing that the people who live in the forests have so much wisdom.  We cannot separate the people who live on the river banks, the Indian people being driven off their lands by the big hydro electric schemes from the rain forests.  During the campagnha which runs throughout Lent we will be talking, and praying about all this, and helping out those who are in the forests.  Perhaps you too in Clifton can talk and pray and take action on these matters and feel them in your hearts.  I can see one solution is an agrarian reform for the owners of the land to look after the forests, the water, the animals, the fish and of course the despised and folks hunted off their land.

Father Leo Dolan

To find out how you can become more aware of Father Leo’s work in Brazil and get to know about the lives of fellow Catholics in South America you can use the special email address padreleo@cliftondiocese.com and make contact with Dr Derek Indoe.