CNBB bishops criticize the “loss of decorum” of the National Congress and the authorities | Policy

The document, made public today, signed by the president of the CNBB, Cardinal Dom Jaime Spenglerand other members of the conference, combine spiritual reflections and passages with political content. The entity affirms that the year 2025 “was marked by deep tensions and social setbacks” and lists problems that he says “have seriously weakened trust in institutions and tested people of good will”.

The first problem among what the CNBB describes as “negative experiences” was “the exorbitant payment of interest and debt repayments.” The assessment is that payment “leaves the country without the capacity to invest more in education, health, housing and security”precisely at the moment when we must “fight against hunger, poverty and inequalities”.

Additionally, according to Catholic leaders, there were “the loss of decorum and the lack of responsibility of certain authorities, in particular of our National Congress”. Also cited: “the lack of respect for indigenous and traditional peoples”, with the approval by Congress of the schedule for demarcation of indigenous lands, and “the threats to environmental protection, intensified by the changes made to the General Environmental Licensing Law”.

For the bishops, there are also negative aspects of the year which is ending: “the weakening of ethics and the increase in corruption in public life”, “the weakening of democratic mechanisms, due to economic interests and power struggles”, and “the relaxation of essential legal frameworks, such as the law on clean records”.

The CNBB, in its message, criticizes hate speech and invites society to rebuild the paths to peace and to develop collective efforts to confront social tensions and promote “justice and truth”. “The nation must return to the path of pacification, dialogue and mutual respect,” affirm the bishops.

According to them, “hate speech, manipulation of the truth, violence, ideological radicalism and private interests cannot take precedence over the common good.” The letter states that democracy – “although imperfect” – is governed by dialogue and a system of “checks and balances” between institutions, and therefore requires “care and promotion”.

“Progress” with the SUS, unemployment and GDP

When publishing the text, the CNBB declared that it wanted to end the year by sending the Brazilian people a “message of hope and alert in the face of the country’s challenges”, while expressing “deep concern about the social, political and ethical reality”..

The entity, for its part, also declared recognizing “significant progress in 2025”, particularly in the areas of health, with the strengthening of the Unified Health System (SUS), and the economy, with a drop in unemployment, stable inflation and growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Another aspect highlighted was sustainability, with the completion of the project COP30 in Brazil and efforts in renewable energies and investments in appropriate practices. In the economic field, the press release also mentions the removal of customs duties by the United States government on Brazilian products and the opening of new international markets.

“As pastors, we rejoice in victories and achievements and are concerned – and even outraged! – at some setbacks in the area of ​​ethics and care of the poor,” the authors say. They also recalled the popular consultation, led by progressive social movements, on the 6×1 working day and the taxation of high incomes (“taxation proportional to wealth”, in the CNBB definition).