Showing posts with label Aparecida. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aparecida. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Under Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil Is Consecrated to Saint Mary


Under Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil Is Consecrated to Saint Mary

By Julio Severo
On May 21, 2019, Brazil was consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in a ceremony that included President Jair Bolsonaro, Bishop Fernando Areas Rifan and Bishop emeritus João Evangelista Martins Terra, of Brasília, Brazil’s capital. Other participants were Catholic leaders from the United States and Latin America.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and a statue of Saint Mary
Catholic websites around the world published reports about the consecration. LifeSiteNews, the largest pro-life Catholic website in the world, also covered the event.
The consecration of Brazil, which is the largest Catholic nation in the world, to Saint Mary was an initiative of national deputy Eros Biondini and Brazil’s Catholic Parliamentary Front to ask for Mary’s protection for Brazil.
A statue of Saint Mary, which depicts her as she appeared to child visionaries in Fatima, Portugal, was at the ceremony and will remain in a place of honor in the presidential palace where Bolsonaro works.
The proclamation of national consecration was signed by cabinet minister Floriano Peixoto on behalf of the Presidency of Brazil. Other signatories were Biondini, Bishop Rifan and Bishop Terra.
Participants at the ceremony included various high-level politicians as well as representatives of various Catholic movements from several nations. According to Biondini, “[t]his is a simple gesture of faith and love, which is of great important not only for Catholics, but for all of Brazil.”
During the ceremony, participants prayed the rosary and sang a Marian hymn, accompanied by a number of nuns.
Bishop Rifan said that consecrating Brazil to Saint Mary means that “Brazil recognizes the presence of God.”
Besides LifeSiteNews, other Catholic groups praised Bolsonaro’s participation in the consecration of Brazil to Saint Mary. The Fatima Center published a report titled “President Bolsonaro Approves the Consecration of His Nation to the Immaculate Heart.” Even though Bolsonaro has not directly signed the document, he participated and had his cabinet minister to sign it. Such participation was enough for Catholics worldwide to celebrate the consecration of Brazil to Saint Mary.
Yet, Bolsonaro’s participation has caused much confusion among his main supporters — evangelicals. Even though Brazil is the largest Catholic nation in the world, evangelicals, who are some 30 percent of the Brazilian population, vote much more conservatively, while Catholics traditionally support left-wing movements. The Workers’ Party, the socialist party defeated by Bolsonaro, was founded by Catholic bishops.
Some evangelical supporters of Bolsonaro have tried to soften his participation in the consecration. GospelPrime, the largest Protestant website in Brazil, first published a report titled “Bolsonaro participates in the consecration of Brazil to Jesus through the ‘Heart of Mary’” when LifeSiteNews, the Fatima Center and other major Catholic websites made no mention of “consecration to Jesus.”
Later, GospelPrime did a “corrective” report titled “Bolsonaro made no pronouncement consecrating Brazil to the Virgin Mary,” basically saying that if Bolsonaro did not sign it, there was no real consecration, even though his cabinet minister was ordered by him to sign it.
GospelPrime also highlighted that because one Catholic group, the Don Bosco Center in Brazil, disapproved the event, it was representative that Catholics did not approved it. But GospelPrime did not report the international repercussion of LifeSiteNews, the Fatima Center and other U.S. Catholic groups that interpreted Bolsonaro’s presence in the ceremony as his approval of the consecration of Brazil to Saint Mary.
The fact that Bolsonaro did not signed but had his cabinet minister to sign has the characteristics of a shrewd political maneuver, which was necessary to protect Bolsonaro from a backlash from his evangelical supporters. The Bolsonaro administration, represented by his cabinet minister, signed it but critics cannot directly accuse Bolsonaro because he directly did not sign it. This maneuver has caused much confusion among evangelicals.
While the Bolsonaro administration and GospelPrime are doing damage control over the consecration, Pastor Cary Gordon seems to have been so excited with the consecration that he wants to interview Bolsonaro for his “Enemies Within the Church,” a documentary that has its own occult pitfalls. But why would an evangelical minister be excited by the Bolsonaro administration consecrating Brazil to Saint Mary? Are idolatry and occultism less cursed than Marxism?
In the consecration, Catholic leaders remembered how Saint Mary protected Bolsonaro from dying in a communist terrorist attack against his life. Bolsonaro, who was personally hearing their declarations, did not express disapproval.
For Mary to have been able to protect Bolsonaro from a terrorist attack, Bolsonaro should have experienced a physical or spiritual intervention.
In the physical intervention, Mary should be present in the attack and in some way hindering the terrorist. But this did not happen because Mary is not alive. She has been physically dead for some 2,000 years.
In the spiritual intervention, she could protect Bolsonaro if she had divine powers, if she were God, but obviously she is not a god and she has no divine power.
Both Catholics and evangelicals know that in the Bible there is no single account of Mary saving a nation, a family, or even a single individual. But there are abundant accounts of God saving nations, families, and people. Jesus and God!
Why not consecrate Brazil to the Lord Jesus Christ and proclaim a Day of Prayer and Fasting for Him?
By participating in a ceremony consecrating Brazil to Saint Mary, Bolsonaro forgot old Brazilian errors. In 1980, General João Figueiredo, who was the president during the Brazilian military regime, officially established October 12 of each year as Day of “Our Lady of Aparecida,” declaring her the patroness of Brazil.
After the official date, Brazil suffered massive high inflation and economic crisis. The military regime crumbled. Yet, Brazil keeps, even today, officially celebrating “Our Lady of Aparecida” as its patroness.
Much like Bolsonaro, Italian Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini dedicated Italy to Saint Mary on May 18. Both Bolsonaro and Salvini have been influenced or even exploited by Steve Bannon, who is behind a fascist esoteric movement to subvert Pope Francis.
Yet, Catholicism or Catholic consecrations have not saved Bolsonaro from spiritual pitfalls. He has been an easy prey for the Brazilian Bannon, Olavo de Carvalho, dubbed “Bolsonaro’s Rasputin.”
Traditionally, Brazilian presidents are Catholic and often consult occult advisers. They consecrate themselves and Brazil to Saint Mary but they are guided by occultists.
Two slogans that were and are part of the Bolsonaro campaign are:
* “And you will know the truth and the truth will set you free” — words of Jesus Christ himself in the Gospel of John.
* “God above all.”
Jesus Christ is God. He is infinitely above me and Bolsonaro. And, yes, He is also infinitely above Mary, who has no part in her throne, glory and majesty. Although graced with the earthly mission of being the mother of Jesus, she was a sinner, like all of us, in need of the redemption and forgiveness of sins offered by Jesus.
Evangelicals, who were fundamental for Bolsonaro’s victory, should pray so that his own slogans may be fulfilled in his life, so he may consecrate himself and Brazil to Jesus Christ and so that he and Brazil may break free from useless idolatry and Rasputins and their occult political advises.
With information from LifeSiteNews.
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Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Cops throw a horse in jail for kicking a car in Brazil


Cops throw a horse in jail for kicking a car in Brazil

By Julio Severo
Brazilian police threw a horse in jail for kicking a car.
To the surprise of its owner, Faceiro the horse was put behind bars for nearly 24 hours after being accused of criminal damage in the city of Nossa Senhora Aparecida, northeast Brazil.
The horse was detained from Sunday evening until Monday afternoon to compensate the angry car owner who demanded the horse should be locked up until she had received payment for the damage.
A video of the dejected animal incarcerated in a military police prison cell has generated both amusement and anger on social media. Worse: Brazil is being mocked in the international media.
There is an urgent need for the police to incarcerate multitudes of real criminals in Brazil, especially corrupt politicians. But this need has never, in centuries of Brazil’s existence, been fulfilled. Brazil has been filled of corrupt politicians since its discovery in 1500.
Brazil is the largest Catholic nation in the world where impunity is the true law of the land. Impunity if the criminal is rich or prominent. But there is law for others, including an innocent horse.
“Nossa Senhora Aparecida,” the city where the horse was incarcerated, is named after a black statue that Brazilian Catholics interpret as Mary, the mother of Jesus. The black statue is officially the Catholic patroness of Brazil and Brazilian Catholics, who love syncretism, pray to Aparecida, which has a massive sanctuary in Brazil.
If Brazilians can make the foolishness to pray to a black statue, why cannot they make the foolishness to incarcerate an innocent horse?
As Jack Palance used to say in his Ripley’s TV show, “Believe it or not!”
With information from DailyMail.
Portuguese version of this article: Polícia prende cavalo por coice em carro no Brasil
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Thursday, August 27, 2015

Understanding Anti-Government Protests in Brazil


Understanding Anti-Government Protests in Brazil

By Julio Severo
Economic crisis produces protests. In Brazil, at least, the motivation behind protests has been, as reported by Reuters, “a sluggish economy, rising prices and corruption.”
Demonstration against Dilma Rousseff
Sadly, the protests have not been against the abortion and homosexual agenda, whose government obsession to impose it should be a top priority in the concerns of a Christian people.
In the early 1980s, Brazil had one of the biggest debts in the world and the commonest word in the Brazilian news was IMF (International Monetary Fund). Prices were skyrocketing. Inflation was the daily friend of Brazilians. All of this during the military regime, which was not corrupt.
Demonstration against the military rule in the 1980
Multitudes rallied as if Dilma Rousseff and her socialist Workers’ Party were in the government. The Brazilian people were tired of economic recession, inflation and high prices. So there were protests and more protests. Even many Brazilians in the United States made protests in the front of the Brazilian Embassy and consulates in the U.S. They did not spare Brazilian President João Baptista Figueiredo even when he needed to travel to the U.S. for medical treatment. In fact, abroad the most prominent Brazilian demonstrations against the Brazilian military regime happened in the U.S.
As an effort to appease the huge discontentment of Brazilians, the military government, under President Figueiredo, decreed that every October 12, from 1982 on, would be a national holiday in honor of Our Lady “Aparecida” as “Patroness of Brazil.” (“Aparecida” is an image of a black lady interpreted by Brazilian Catholics as “Mary, mother of Jesus,” but strangely with black skin. So she is the Brazilian black Mary.)
Such decree left evangelicals immensely displeased. In opposition to the decree, Pentecostal evangelist Manoel de Mello called evangelicals for a demonstration at the Pacaembu Stadium, in São Paulo, against idolatry, in October 12, 1982. In this date, the stadium was overcrowded, even under torrents of rain, for the service of protest against the national idolatry established by the military government.
Evangelicals were dissatisfied because they believed that Brazil belonged to the Lord Jesus, but because of the financial crisis, the military men handed Brazil over to Aparecida. Even today, the military decree keeps Brazil surrendered to Aparecida (the black Mary), which was incapable to protect Brazil from a leftist domination (PT, PSDB, etc.).
Even when Brazil was more Catholic, such a national holiday handing Brazil over to Aparecida had never been created. Yet, the military strategy, although having immensely pleased the Catholic Church and the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil, in no way helped Brazil to escape the economic crisis. Inflation was getting worse, the minimum wages were not enough to cover minimum expenses and protests against the military government grew larger and larger. It was in this environment of economic recession that Liberation Theology communities, connected to the Catholic Church, created and strengthened the Workers’ Party.
With this historic knowledge, you can assess better what is happening in Brazil today. With or without government corruption, Brazilians are going to protest against an economic crisis hitting their pockets. Brazilian protested against the military rulers, who were not corrupt. Brazilians protest against Rousseff, who is extremely corrupt. In both cases, the Brazilian motivation is economic crisis.
In the case of military rulers, who were hard-working and honest investors in the development of Brazil, is hard to understand how their administration was as economically recessive as the Marxist Rousseff administration is. The best explanation I have ever read was provided by U.S. economist John Perkins, in this article: http://bit.ly/1hhIpRc
Many Brazilians want today the military men to overthrow corrupt Rousseff from power. But if they do it and the economic crisis does not soften, multitudes are going to rally and blame them for the economic problems in Brazil, just as they did 30 years ago. Sadly, for the Brazilian people, economy is much more important than right or left and even more than moral values.
In the case of military rulers, the crisis aided socialists and communists, by giving abundant pretexts for attacking the military rulers and asking, through massive rallies, their exit.
In the case of the Workers’ Party, the crisis aides the right, by giving abundant pretexts for attacking the Workers’ Party and asking, through massive rallies, their exit.
In Brazil at least, economic crisis, not moral values, has provoked for decades massive protests, against the military rulers and against the socialist rulers.
Portuguese version of this article: Entendendo os protestos anti-governo no Brasil
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