Brazil’s Catholic Bishops Rebuke Congress and Debt Costs in New Year Message

Overview

• Released on December 29 and signed by Cardinal Jaime Spengler and the CNBB leadership, the institutional message frames 2025 as a year of tensions that eroded trust in institutions.
• The CNBB says “exorbitant” interest and debt amortization are crowding out investment in education, health, housing and public security.
• The message accuses some authorities, especially in Congress, of a loss of decency and responsibility and of actions that weakened democratic mechanisms.
• It denounces legal and environmental rollbacks, citing changes to the Clean Record law, approval of the Marco Temporal later rejected by the Supreme Court, and alterations to environmental licensing rules.
• Alongside a call to reject hate speech and ideological radicalism, the CNBB recognizes 2025 gains including a stronger SUS, lower unemployment, stable inflation, GDP growth, partial removal of U.S. tariffs, and Brazil’s hosting of COP-30, and it reiterates opposition to legalizing abortion.