Franciscan Conference of Brasil elects new President

(CFMB) 28.03.1998 The OFM Brasil Conference elected fr. Nestor Inácio Schwerz, Minister Provincial of the Province of St. Francis (Porto Alegre). He succeeds Fr. Dario Campos of the Holy Cross Province (Belo Horizonte). The CFMB comprises 4 provcinces, 4 vice-provinces, 1 Custtody (Sacred Heart of Jesus - SP) and 2 foundations (Our Lady of Fatima - MG, and Our Lady of Graces - Ibiapaba-PI). In Brasil the Order has 218 houses and according to the latest statistics (31.12.1997) there are 1146 friars of whom 21 are bishops and 2 cardinals.

Entity	S.P.	T.P	Nov.	Tot.
Prov. da Santa Cruz - Belo Horizonte - MG	109	29	6	144
Prov. São Francisco - Porto Alegre - RS	106	24	6	136
Prov. Imaculada Conceição - São Paulo - SP	386	52	24	462
Prov. Santo Antônio - Salvador - BA	162	18	2	180
V.Prov. N.Sra. da Assunção - Bacabal - MA	42	12	4	58
V.Prov. São Benedito do Amazonas - Santarém - PA	28	12	6	46
V.Prov.das Sete Alegrias de N. Sra - Campo Grande-MS	32	9	1	42
V.Prov. do Ssmo. Nome de Jesus - Anápolis - GO	40	12	4	56

The Catholic Church in Brasil has 253 dioceses with 377 bishops. There are 7616 parishes which are served by 7076 diocesan priests and 7634 religious. This brings out a ratio of one priest for every 7500 persons, which is clearly higher if one considers the number of priests who are mainly involved in social, medical or scholastic activity. The Population of Brasil is 158,840,000 who live in an area of 8,511,965 sq km, a population made up of different cultures and ethnic groups. 48% of the population is considered "black" and is the second largest coloured nation, second only to Nigeria. The poor of this society come mainly from the indios and the "black" sections where one finds the highest rate of illiterates, disoccupied or seasonly employed or working in the black economy. Some still live in sub-human conditions. The present government has opted for a neo-liberal system in which the social aspect becomes a secondary aspect. From here stem the strong social differences in the Brasilian society where 10% of the population controls 48% of the GDP while the majority (32 million) live without any prospects for the future. The minimum monthly salary is R$ 112 (US$100). The monthly basket for a family of 4 is R$ 140 (US$120). Even if with the new currency the salaries have increased considerably but so has the cost of living making it the highest in all of South America.

the above information was received at our office
today Tuesday, 07 April, 1998

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