The Catholic Conclave site has this beauty, passed along by Canon 212. Original document in Portuguese here . The lede in the article and Canon 212 headline seems to be that the bishops of Brazil blame traditional Catholics for “polarization”in that country. Of course they do. We are the red-headed stepchildren of the regime.

But I wanted to focus on this paragraph in the article (which basically and accurately summarizes a paragraph of the original) and highlight a few other things:

The text also pointed out the matrices that are at the origin of polarisation in Brazil, such as militarism, anti-intellectualism, entrepreneurialism, economic liberalism, anti-communism and the fight against corruption. “The encounter of this conservatism brings individualism, punitivism, the valuing of order above the law; and the affective conditions bring humiliation in situations of unemployment, underemployment”. The ecclesial analysis also stressed that social networks are crucial and that digital media facilitate rapid communication, but also create bubbles.

Entrepreneurialism.

Anti-communism.

The fight against corruption.

The bishops of Brazil, allegedly Catholic, have identified what they see as the ORIGINS of polarization in their country. They thus have problems with, and are thus presumably opposed to, these things.

They are opposed to entrepreneurialism. You will own nothing and be happy. Or at least you must be under orders from someone to make a living. This coincides with the opposition to fighting back (militarism, wink) and anti-elitism (which the elites ascribe to their superior intellects). Standing up for God-given rights is not allowed, slaves.

They are opposed to anti-communism. If one is against anti-communism I suppose that makes them pro-communism, right? All of the popes that have faced the question of communism have condemned it. Leo XIII, St. Pius X, Benedict XV, Pius XI, Pius XII and even the post-Vatican II popes. The encyclical Divini Redemptoris of Pius XI is perhaps the most thorough expression of Church teaching, but all have opposed it publicly.

Why would this group of successors to the Apostles oppose these things? Oh wait, I forgot one. Maybe because they oppose the fight against corruption.

Now the document contains enough qualifiers and asides to allow some measure of cover against claims of contradicting Church doctrine. V2-speak exists in languages other than English. You know, like it isn’t this thing we see as problematic, but how people used this thing. Or, this problem didn’t really exist so opposing it was not necessary etc. But I am old enough to remember the events of January 2023. and what happened in Brazil was literally a fight (and a losing one at that) against communism, corruption and basic rights, political and economic.

With this lamentable document the Brazilian bishops identify who they think is to blame. And by so doing, they identify whom they support.