In 2013, this is what it looks like when the Pope is about to pass by in front of crowds. Smartphones and cameras everywhere. It’s Popeweek here in Rio de Janeiro, and that has absolutely dominated news coverage. Since my main employer, the LA Times, is a newspaper in a Catholic-heavy city in a very(…)
Arquivo - Tag: Religion
In Brazil, the man who would have been pope
Brazil ‘lost’ to Argentina at the Conclave in Rome last week. But São Paulo Cardinal Odilo Scherer will remain a towering figure for the world’s largest congregation. By Dom Phillips There was surprise and disappointment here when the white smoke pouring from a Vatican chimney meant a new pope had been chosen – and he(…)
Pope Francis – a radical choice, but burdened by history
Well, they didn’t give it to the Brazilian. But in the moments after Wednesday’s announcements there were three things that seemed radical about the choice of Cardinal Bergoglio. Not radical in the context of wider society in 2013, of course, but radical within the context of the papacy and its recent history. 1. Most obviously(…)
Brazil’s evangelical churches – cash flow
At the Penha chapter of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, on the poor outskirts of São Paulo: “Let me tell you a story,” the white-clad pastor said. “One of our faithful was unemployed, and was about to receive his very last unemployment payment before going completely broke. Do you think he was(…)
