(Located in the northeast region of Brazil, the diocese of Juazeiro faces numerous socio-economic and pastoral issues. Its Assumptionist bishop, Most Rev. José Geraldo da Cruz, paints a realistic picture of the situation for us and demonstrates his determination for the future.   This article first appeared in the April/May/June 2013 issue of the Assumptionist magazine, L’Assomption et ses oeuvres.)

The diocese of Juazeiro is split in two by the São Francisco River in the northeast state of Bahia in the heart of caatinga* country. It is divided into nine townships covering 60,000 square kilometers (about 23,000 square miles). It has about 500,000 inhabitants. There are only 14 parishes, six of which are in the city of Juazeiro (pop. 260,000).

Since its creation in 1962, the diocese has focused its efforts in the integral development of the human person, in particular with educate, organize, and help the most neglected populations. A number of ministries were created to address certain specific urgent needs: fishermen, marginalized women, the elderly, children, those with land issues. The challenges are significant and in spite of years of work a lot remains to be done such as assuring drinking water and irrigation, fighting for an end to the pollution of the São Francisco River, regularizing diocesan properties, etc.

The Church, still credible…

We cannot remain strangers to the socio-cultural reality of the people we serve. The diocese finds itself faced with the same problems as the rest of Brazil at this time of great social change: growing and global computerization, rapid urbanization, an archaic parochial organization, social injustice, drug abuse, violence, etc.

In this difficult context young people, unemployed and with little hope for the future, are vulnerable to pursuing big bucks quickly and using drugs that engender violence. Statistics show that young people are over-represented among the victims of violent death, by accident or murder.

In general, one can see a deterioration in values and a lack of confidence in institutions. The Church remains one of the most credible.

….and involved

To these general problems one must add those specific to our region. The northeast of Brazil is semiarid and covered by the caatinga. It is affected by cyclical droughts that can often last 5 years.  As a matter of fact this year we are in the fifth year of one of these cycles.  The population has been forced to move about; cattle are dying because water and pasturage are lacking. The Church of Juazeiro has gotten involved in helping people and seeking solutions to this problem by building cisterns to retain less and less frequent rain-water, by the channeling of river and lake water, and by taking an active part in public debates.

A dynamic pastoral activity

The local population is deeply religious but often mixes in extraneous elements and tends toward a kind of syncretism. To accompany our population in their integral development, we need lots of help: priests, religious, and lay leaders. Pastoral ministers are numerous, especially catechists; they are well organized and today there are more than 3,000 of them. The diocesan clergy, however, is growing too slowly to meet the needs; currently there are 28 priests in the diocese, 8 young men in the major seminary and 4 in philosophy.

Over the past few years, the diocese has seen some successes, notably in the area of administrative re-organization. The existing pastoral ministries have been given new life and many others have been put in place, with a special emphasis on leadership training, on the elderly and on the young. We’ve also given new life to our catechetical efforts.

Competition from fundamentalists

Certain areas of the diocese remain mission lands, like those of Pilão Arcado and Sento Sé, because of their constant growth, and Campo Alegre because of its distance from other population centers and inaccessibility due to poor roads.

Ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue are practically out of the question, because of the rise of fundamentalist churches and sects who engage in aggressive proselytization.

Bishop and Assumptionist

A bishop since 2003, I feel in complete harmony with my diocese as an Assumptionist because Fr. d’Alzon triple love for Jesus Christ and all that he loved, his Mother and the Church, are values close to the heart of my people here. Aware that the proclamation of Jesus Christ and his good news is inseparable from the promotion of the whole person in justice, love, and unity (Rule of Life #16), I am fully involved in hastening the coming of the Kingdom.