Aid to the Church in Need: Brazil: Support for the 10 seminarians of the diocese of Balsas

Brazil: Support for the 10 seminarians of the diocese of Balsas

Posted by Project of the Week on 31/8/2009, 1:42 pm
Board Administrator

BRAZIL

Support for the 10 seminarians of the diocese of Balsas

The northeast of Brazil is still regarded as one of the poorest parts of the country. But in fact it suffers not only from material poverty but also from a great shortage of priests. This makes it easy for the sects to spread, since more or less anybody who chooses can very quickly become a "pastor" with the result that on every street corner the "temples" of the sects seem to spring up like mushrooms. Many originate from the USA and have no shortage of money, so that they are able to entice people with the lure of material advantage and spurious promises of salvation. Some persuade the poor to part with what little cash they have by promising "If you give us enough, then God will bless you!" And so the mother of a young addict, the wife of an alcoholic, the unemployed man are relieved of the last of their small savings in the belief that God will thereby help their family. These sects are merely preying on the needs of their fellow men. But the Catholic Church, which has always stood on the side of the poor and oppressed, simply does not have enough shepherds to care for the faithful.

According to the Annuario Pontificio, the Pontifical Yearbook, the diocese of Balsas, which lies in the south of the state of Maranhão and serves a territory of almost 26,000 square miles (66,000 square kilometres), has just 19 diocesan and 7 religious priests to serve a population of almost 180,000 Catholics. In an area twice the size of Belgium there are just 17 parishes, giving an average area of around 1,500 square miles (3,900 km ²) per parish. The priests have to travel vast distances, and many regions are very inaccessible.

On 12 May 2007, during his trip to Brazil, Pope Benedict XVI spoke in the Basilica of the shrine of Aparecida and made it clear to the priests who serve God and their fellow men in such difficult conditions that he understands them and knows their difficult situation. He told them, “What great challenges, what difficult situations you have to face, with such generosity, self-denial, sacrifices and renunciations! Your faithfulness in the exercise of the ministry and the life of prayer, your search for holiness, your total self-giving to God at the service of your brothers and sisters, as you expend your lives and energy in order to promote justice, fraternity, solidarity and sharing—all this speaks powerfully to my pastoral heart.“

And still there are young men who are willing to follow the call of God. They have the generosity and nobility of spirit to be unafraid of sacrifice, and even find in it a joy that is deeper than all the joys of this world. Currently there are 10 young men in the major seminary of Balsas, who are preparing to serve as priests at the Altar of the Lord and bring the Good News to the faithful in their own dioceses – Good News that is no lie, unlike the false promises of the sects. These young men want to show their people that God will never abandon them, since they are his children. But without our help they themselves cannot follow their vocation. That is why The Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need has promised a grant of over $7,000 to help the diocese train its seminarians.

To help this cause please contact the Australian office of ACN on (02) 9679-1929. e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org or write to Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148. Web: www.aidtochurch.org

Seminarians enhancing the beauty of the Mass with music
(Code: 212-02-39)

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Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148 ABN: 62 418 911 594
Ph/Fax (02) 9679-1929 e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org web: www.aidtochurch.org