The Roman Catholic Church has been identified as one of the most powerful adversaries of the campaign to legalize and/or decriminalize abortion waged by feminist groups in Brazil. The Catholic Church does indeed wield considerable social power in Brazil, acting as a major pressure group, lobbying the government and Congress, influencing the mass media, and transmitting the official Catholic doctrine on abortion to the men and particularly the women in its congregation, via specialized cadres of both genders. However, despite the appearance of absolute consensus in the Church's condemnation of abortion, careful observation of its practice shows that there are in fact contradictions rather than complete homogeneity. Leila Linhares (1992), analyzing the history of the pro-abortion movement in Brazil, clearly shows how the women's movement has built alliances with segments of the Catholic Church, not for abortion but for other social issues. The need for such alliances placed constraints on women's demands and limited the issues debated by the movement, but on the other hand they at times amplified the repercussions of feminist struggles, because of the Church's social penetration and its power to influence society. In the 1970s, firm opposition to the military regime by key members of the Catholic hierarchy and the Church's privileged position in negotiations with the state greatly boosted the institution's credibility in the eyes of the leftwing groups with which feminists were allied or to which they belonged. The women's movement was therefore able to find allies in the Catholic Church who supported campaigns for daycare centers, against the cost of living, for political prisoners etc. However, as the military began liberalizing the regime in the 1980s and feminists extended their demands explicitly to the right for women to decide freely on sexual matters, including the right to interrupt an unwanted pregnancy, the Church reacted adversely, and conflict entered the relationship. As Geraldine Sharp recalls in a recent text, any change in the patriarchal organization of the family or attempt to enhance women's autonomy in the sphere of sexuality and reproduction threatens the basis of Catholic belief and tradition. Women's demands for recognition of their moral capacity to take decisions that are acceptable from the ethical and religious standpoints; for recognition of their right to decide matters affecting their own lives and bodies and of their experiences as a fit subject for Christian reflection in the sphere of sexual morals — all these women's demands generate situations of conflict within the Catholic Church.

The Catholic Church and the abortion debate in Brazil

Recent research in social science has corroborated the hypothesis of a growing gap between religious norms in the sphere of sexuality and contraception, and the actual behavior of Catholics (Machado 1996). Similar findings have been published for Brazil (Pesquisa DataFolha, junho, 1994). However, despite all the changes that have taken place in the religious sphere in Brazil in recent years, Catholicism continues to function in our society as a powerful source of messages designed to guide the behavior of Catholic men and especially women. A significant proportion of the female population, especially the low-income strata, follow a moral code elaborated on the basis of principles deriving from the official Catholic discourse. Surveys of Brazilian women's opinions suggest that even those who have had an abortion favor the maintenance of punitive legislation to prevent the practice. These women would seem to bear a strong sense of guilt regarding their own experience of abortion. One of the strategies to which the Church resorts to maintain its power of coercion over women and its political influence in Congress and the media is presentation of the official discourse as the institution's only voice. In fact, however, there are agents of the institution at various levels who elaborate a counter-discourse, but they do not appear in the media and have no public visibility, because of the Church's repression of any discourse that clashes with the official discourse. The counter-discourse is elaborated from the site of non-power within the institution. The public inaudibility of this discourse prevents women, especially poor women, from obtaining access to an alternative moral elaboration which could enable them to deconstruct their guilt feelings about abortion. It also prevents parliamentarians from elaborating counter-arguments to traditional religious and ethical principles. In the current debate in Brazil, it is not uncommon for bills proposing to legalize and/or decriminalize abortion to be opposed by individuals who invoke Christian principles to condemn abortion as sinful. This position is presented as if it reflected the thinking of all Christians. Allusions to the internal diversity that genuinely exists are very rare indeed. This is especially true of the Catholic Church. However, the conclusions of a seminar on abortion in Latin America held in Colombia at Universidad Externado in 1994 noted that

"only two aspects seem to have evolved in a clear and widespread manner in the region: cracks in the monolithic discourse condemning abortion as a crime and chinks in the representation of abortion as a sin. The concept of a 'lesser evil', present in the legal and moral spheres, has steadily weakened both crime and sin as social representations of abortion in the region". (Zamudio, L. And N. Rubiano, 1995:7)

A Latin American theologian, Alberto Muñera, defends the moral validity of practicing or having an abortion. Reflecting on the moral judgment of Christian women who have abortions, he says they face a conflict of values or duties, because of the need to choose between "preserving the life of a potential person in gestation and preserving the values which would be destroyed if an unwanted pregnancy proceeded to term". According to traditional and prevailing morality, he writes, if a person in an extreme situation "chooses what he or she considers most important, no moral fault and thus no sin is committed".(1993:24)

Muñera also discusses the validity of the principle of absolute respect for life as a definitive argument against decriminalization of abortion. When there is a conflict between "our happiness and our duty to respect human life", he argues, it is not possible to affirm categorically that happiness must be sacrificed.

In Brazil there are also signs of significant changes among members of the Catholic Church. Three examples will suffice for the present purpose. The first is an episode involving a Brazilian nun, Sister Ivone Gebara, a philosopher and author of several books on theology. Towards the end of 1993, she gave an interview to a leading Brazilian magazine stating her support for liberalization of the legislation on abortion currently in force. She reiterated this position in another text and was punished by the Vatican. The second example relates to two high-ranking Catholic cardinals. In January 1996, articles published in the Brazilian press reflected disagreements between Dom Paulo Evaristo Arns, cardinal and Archbishop of São Paulo, and Dom Lucas Moreira Neves, Primate of Brazil and current chairman of the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops (CNBB). While the latter unreservedly condemned abortion in any shape or form, in line with the official position stated by the present Pope in all his pronouncements and encylicals, Cardinal Arns defended a rape victim's right to seek immediate medical intervention in order to prevent pregnancy from developing: "a woman who has suffered rape should at once go to a doctor, because she will thereby prevent internal suffering of her own and also for a child that could otherwise be born". He supported this position by referring to traditional Catholic moral teachings: "That was the advice I received from my morality professor fifty years ago" (Folha de S. Paulo, Dec. 22, 1995, section 1, p. 9). This statement was immediately incorporated into the argument in favor of liberalizing the law so as to extend the number of situations in which abortion is legal. In an article written for one of the city's leading dailies, José Genoino, a federal deputy for São Paulo, referred directly to the issue: "Let me take note of the typically courageous recent statement by the Archbishop of São Paulo, Cardinal Arns, admitting the possibility of an abortion in a case of rape" (O Estado de S. Paulo, Jan. 13, 1996, p. A2). In an article written at about the same time, Cardinal Neves reiterated the traditional arguments used to condemn abortion — denial of women's moral capacity to take ethical decisions; the sanctity of life; exaltation of the heroism of a woman who becomes a mother because she chooses life rather than abortion even when pregnant as a result of rape:

"Thus it is no surprise if, when faced by a concrete situation in all its brutality, a woman prefers the immediate solution. Even if she is a Christian, if she is not mature enough in faith and life and does not have strong moral and spiritual support, she may choose to destroy the life she bears in her womb as the fruit of violence... Life is sacred. Life is the phenomenon that comes closest to the Absolute which is God. Thus life is inviolable from the moment of conception until the very last breath. No one has the power to take away the life of an innocent human being, especially when it is tiny and defenseless. Therefore, abortion is not morally legitimate, even after a rape."

At the end of the article, in an obvious allusion to the argument used by Cardinal Arns, Cardinal Neves says that vaginal or intra-uterine washing after rape could be abortive and is therefore unacceptable (O Estado de S. Paulo, Jan. 3, 1996, p. A2).

Historically, the Catholic hierarchy in Brazil has followed Rome's doctrine on sexual morality. Contrasting with trends in other countries, in Brazil no Catholic priest, let alone the CNBB, uttered a single criticism of the encyclical Humanae Vitae, for example. They responded with similar assent to John Paul II's more recent polemical encyclicals. Even bishops who follow the pastoral proposals inspired by liberation theology and are seen as progressive in the social sphere always manifest support for traditional Catholic principles in the sphere of sexual mores. The absence of vocal backing for Sister Gebara on the part of her fellow liberation theologians during the recent episode is revealing. The stance taken by Cardinal Arns in public probably relates to his personal position, in that he is to retire as archbishop during 1996 and may feel "free" to express an opinion. In any event, his words constitute a novelty for the Brazilian hierarchy. The third example is mentioned by Baltar da Rocha:

"One of the most striking recent facts regarding the Catholic Church's participation in this debate is the advent of a group called Católicas pelo Direito de Decidir, which recently began lobbying Congress. These Christian feminists who identify with the women's movement on the issue of reproductive rights have taken part in debates with members of both houses of Congress and members of the Catholic hierarchy. They disagree with the official position of this institution but see themselves as members of the Church and constitute a new interlocutor in Congress's deliberations on the abortion issue." (1994: 61)

Lastly, it remains to be seen whether these occurrences are sufficient to configure a new situation by indicating far-reaching changes in the institution. Over and above statistics showing a discrepancy between the propositions of the Catholic hierarchy and the behavior of grassroots Church members, it is important to realize that many Catholic men and women have moved ahead of the institution and are forging a viable and dignified (i.e. generous) ethics for the world of today. In a survey of lower-class women, respondents invoked their religious belief to justify their behavior in the sphere of reproduction. For them, God is not absent from abortion, their most radical experience in this area. "I prayed to God to let everything be all right when I had my abortion," said one. Thus, through this woman's prayers, God is present where the hierarchs of the Church refuse to tread.

-----------------

Paper presented at the Abortion Matters International Conference, Amsterdam, 27-29.03.96.

References . Barsted, Leila Linhares. 1992. Legalização e descriminalização do aborto no Brasil: 10 anos de luta feminista. Revista Estudos Feministas, vol.0, nº0, p.104-130.

. Sharp, Geraldine. 1995. The Changing Nature of the Marriage Contract; The Control of Reproduction; and Patriarchy: in the Church of Pope John Paul II. Paper. International Society for the Sociology of Religion, Laval University, Québec: Canada.

. Machado, Maria das Dores Campos. 1996. Sexualidade e reprodução nos grupos evangélicos e católicos. Relatório final de pesquisa. Prodir II. Fundação Carlos Chagas/Fundação MacArthur. Janeiro.

. Zamudio, L. and N. Rubiano. 1994. Encuentro de investigadores sobre aborto inducido en América Latina y el Caribe, Conclusiones y Recomendaciones, Santafé de Bogotá.

. Muñera, Alberto. 1993. Concepciones alternativas sobre sexualidad, reproducción, anticoncepción y aborto, Montevideo, mimeo.

. Rocha, M. Isabel Baltar. 1994. O Congresso Nacional e a questão do aborto. Relatório preliminar de pesquisa, mimeo.