Touring Slum in Rio, Pope Urges Young to Fight Against Corruption
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RIO DE JANEIRO — Pope Francis on Thursday delivered some of his most politically provocative remarks since his papacy began this year, hopping from his popemobile to walk through a slum in this city before urging young people to fight against corruption, a leading grievance behind the huge street protests that shook dozens of Brazilian cities in June. “Do not grow accustomed to evil, but defeat it,” Francis said at the favela, or slum, of Varginha, in an area that has commonly been known here as the Gaza Strip for its gun battles and drug trafficking in the past. “Do not lose trust, do not allow your hope to be extinguished,” he added, acknowledging that it was common for some to “grow disillusioned with news of corruption.” By singling out corruption in a folksy visit to a Brazilian favela on his first trip abroad as pope, Francis, an Argentine-born Jesuit, emphasized his aim to refocus the Roman Catholic Church on the neglected margins of society, especially in Brazil and other parts of Latin America where the popularity of evangelical churches has surged among the poor in recent decades. In a nod to the Brazilian political authorities who have warmly welcomed him, Francis also praised the government’s antipoverty programs and did not specifically mention the anti-establishment protests in Brazil. But he did critique Rio de Janeiro’s so-called pacification project in the city’s slums, in which security forces assert control over lawless areas. “No amount of pacification will be able to last, nor will harmony and happiness be attained in a society that ignores, pushes to the margins or excludes a part of itself,” the pope said in Varginha, a slum that has recently been subjected to pacification. In a remark that could resonate in Latin America and in the United States, which is also grappling with the widening disparity between the haves and the have-nots, Francis said that a society “impoverishes itself” by perpetuating such inequality. Care for the poor and marginalized is an integral part of Catholic teaching, and a concern of many popes and encyclicals, including those by Francis’ predecessor, Benedict XVI. But Francis has made it a hallmark of his young papacy, telling journalists in Rome days after his election, “How I would like a church that is poor and for the poor.” He has demonstrated that ideal by living relatively humbly as pope: in a communal guesthouse rather than the opulent papal apartment, wearing a pectoral cross of iron instead of gold, flying commercial. He recently told priests that they should not drive fancy cars, and he has traveled around Rio this week in a compact Fiat. “He is helping to wake people up,” said Natalia Morais, 21, a nursing student from Minas Gerais State who traveled to Rio to see the pope as part of World Youth Day, a conference attended by hundreds of thousands of Catholic youth. “When the pope talks, political leaders listen, and that’s what’s needed in Brazil, where our protests are about their corruption,” Ms. Morais said. Reaching beyond Brazil, Francis told Argentines who came here for the conference that “the church must be taken into the streets” in a struggle against complacency. “Stir things up, cause confounding, but do not diminish faith in Jesus Christ,” he said in Spanish. Not all Brazilians are thrilled with Francis’ visit, which the local news media has covered in detail. Some evangelical Christians, who account for about 22 percent of the country’s population, have pointed out that the Catholic Church enjoys many privileges in Brazil, including millions of dollars of government spending for the pope’s trip. “The Catholic Church has always had lots of money and support from the government,” said Elizeu Sousa Teixeira, 31, a security guard at an evangelical church in Brasília, the capital. “It’s political.” In each of Francis’ public appearances, he has been accorded a rock-star reception. On an uncommonly cold and rainy morning, hundreds of residents lined the narrow, muddy sidewalks of the Varginha favela to glimpse the first pope from the Americas, who obliged by stopping often to touch and bless people. Many onlookers had made their own shirts to commemorate the event, with a photo of Francis. Others draped themselves in Brazilian flags and waved banners bearing his image. Residents darted in and out of their homes, checking their televisions and radios to learn the pope’s whereabouts and calling the information out to their neighbors standing on wet rooftops to get a better view. Sônia Curato, 48, a manicurist, said the pope’s visit was different from that of other leaders. “Politicians come all the time. They make promises and leave,” she said. “He is a very simple person. You can tell that. He has charisma. He speaks to the people, doesn’t like going around in an armored car.” Others were more focused on the opportunities the visit presented. Josenil Guedes da Silva, 36, had driven down to the favela from his home in Recife to sell souvenirs, including a mug with the pope’s photo for about $5. With 600 mugs and 1,000 key chains, he said, “I came to do business.” <NYT_AUTHOR_ID> <p>Laurie Goodstein contributed reporting from New York, Lucy Jordan from Brasília, and Paula Ramon from Rio de Janeiro. |