A ação política dos bispos católicos na ditadura militar: os casos de São Carlos e Assis

Abstract

The academic literature often references the articulation of the Catholic Church in the period of the military dictatorship in Brazil (1964-1984), sometimes supporting the coup, sometimes taking part in the democratic resistance - especially after 1968 - with international campaigns, official statements, articulation for the Committee for Justice and Peace, claims from catholic pastoral groups, etc. The bishops, however, never built a monolithic block. This study considers the heterogeneity of the Catholic clergy and political specificities of each region during the military dictatorship in Brazil, suggesting that for every bishop, added to each local context and to the practice concept of the religious message, the weight of the union around his institution may be the explanatory axis for his position in order to bring new perspectives for qualitative analysis of political relations between the Catholic Church and the State in Brazil during the military dictatorship. The specific aim of this research is to investigate the political activity of the bishops of the Catholic Church in São Paulo state dioceses based in São Carlos and Assis. The results of the study are expected to respond to literature gaps on the subject, which until now have mainly focused in the progressive clergy, either in major population centers or in a national level.