The Progressive Catholic Church in Brazil, 1964-1972: the Official
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Florida International University FIU Digital Commons FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations University Graduate School 3-25-2014 The rP ogressive Catholic Church in Brazil, 1964-1972: The Official American View Sigifredo Romero [email protected] DOI: 10.25148/etd.FI14040878 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd Part of the Christianity Commons, Diplomatic History Commons, History of Christianity Commons, History of Religion Commons, Latin American History Commons, and the Political History Commons Recommended Citation Romero, Sigifredo, "The rP ogressive Catholic Church in Brazil, 1964-1972: The Official American View" (2014). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1210. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/1210 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the University Graduate School at FIU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of FIU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY Miami, Florida THE PROGRESSIVE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN BRAZIL, 1964-1972: THE OFFICIAL AMERICAN VIEW A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in RELIGIOUS STUDIES by Sigifredo Romero 2014 To: Dean Kenneth G. Furton College of Arts and sciences This thesis, written by Sigifredo Romero, and entitled The Progressive Catholic Church in Brazil, 1964-1972: The Official American View, having been approved in respect to style and intellectual content, is referred to you for judgment. We have read this thesis and recommend that it be approved. ___________________________________ Christine Gudorf ____________________________________ Victor Uribe ____________________________________ Ana Maria Bidegain, Major Professor Date of Defense: March 25, 2014 The thesis of Sigifredo Romero is approved _________________________________ Dean Kenneth G. Furton College of Arts and Sciences _________________________________ Dean Lakshmi N. Reddi University Graduate School Florida International University, 2014 ii DEDICATION To Maria Elba, Ana Maria and Mariana; my mother, my professor and my girlfriend. Three different Marias, three souls of Latin America. iii AKNOWLEDGMENTS Many people made possible the writing of this thesis, the research and my life in the last two years. First of all, Professor Ana Maria has been the mastermind of the whole enterprise. I am extremely grateful not only for her academic support but also for her generous help in the littlest elements of my life. I would neither have come to her nor to Miami without the paternal concern and the direction of my friend Fernando Torres in Bogotá. The support of my mother, Elba and of my family Romero in Miami namely Anabell Corredor and Fabiola Romero was also vital for my survival since I came to Miami in August of 2012. In the Religious Studies Department of FIU I could count on the generous help of the faculty and the staff. I also thank the members of the committee, Professor Christine Gudorf and Professor Victor Uribe, for their invaluable suggestions and corrections. In Miami I met extraordinary friends who helped me in any possible way: Michael Brasher and his lovely family, Stephanie Londoño, Alex Huezo, Kiyomi Tsuyuki, Alvin del Valle, Evelyn Arhin-Sam, Helen Tarbatt, Nestor Perez, Katie Pals, Alfonso Matas, and many others. They all made of Miami my home. Thanks to Monica Weeks, in D.C., who hosted me in her home during difficult moments. Thanks, finally, to Mariana Mello for being with me in so many ways. iv ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS THE PROGRESSIVE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN BRAZIL, 1964-1972: THE OFFICIAL AMERICAN VIEW by Sigifredo Romero Florida International University, 2014 Miami, Florida Professor Ana Maria Bidegain, Major Professor This thesis explores the American view of the Brazilian Catholic Church through the critical examination of cables produced by the U.S. diplomatic mission in Brazil during the period 1964-1972. This thesis maintains that the United States regarded the progressive catholic movement, and eventually the Church as a whole, as a threat to its security interests. Nonetheless, by the end of 1960s, the American approach changed from suspicion to collaboration as the historical circumstances required so. This thesis sheds light on the significance of the U.S. as a major player in the political conflict that affected Brazil in the 1964-1972 years in which the Brazilian Catholic Church, and particularly its progressive segments, played a fundamental role. v TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE CHAPTER 1 ........................................................................................................................1 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................1 Literature Review.................................................................................................................3 CHAPTER 2 ......................................................................................................................10 Analysis of Sources............................................................................................................10 Methodology ......................................................................................................................18 CHAPTER 3 ......................................................................................................................22 Historical Background .......................................................................................................22 Historical Context of the 1960s Decade ............................................................................33 Changes in the Vatican ......................................................................................................38 United States and Dictatorship ...........................................................................................41 CHAPTER 4 ......................................................................................................................49 Determinants of the American Interest ..............................................................................49 The Dangerous Church ......................................................................................................51 The Conflict Begins ...........................................................................................................57 The Church and Students ...................................................................................................61 A Turning Point .................................................................................................................66 A Modern Martyrology ......................................................................................................70 Collaboration for Social Change ........................................................................................75 The Transformation of the Church ....................................................................................85 The Church and Human Rights..........................................................................................92 CHAPTER 5 ......................................................................................................................98 Who is Observed? ..............................................................................................................98 Students ..............................................................................................................................99 Bishops .............................................................................................................................100 Dom Hélder Câmara ........................................................................................................103 CHAPTER 6 ....................................................................................................................115 Conclusions ......................................................................................................................115 Further Research Possibilities ..........................................................................................122 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................124 APPENDICES .................................................................................................................129 vi CHAPTER 1 Introduction The role of the Catholic Church in the public life during the military dictatorship that ruled Brazil between 1964 and 1985 has been the object of an important debate in the Brazilian and the brazilianist American historiography. There is no surprise that in that time of important political transformations, the Church played a definitive role. In this thesis I explore the U.S. views and interests in the Brazilian Church during the years 1964-1972, which correspond to the first period of the dictatorship. The present research is underpinned by the controversial role the United States played in Latin American politics in the decades of the 1960s and 1970s. Particularly in the Southern Cone, those were years marked by the imposition of military dictatorships that were supported by the US.1 Those regimes abolished democracy and implemented dirty war policies under which thousands of people were tortured, murdered and disappeared. The Brazilian