Brazil
Brazil is not only the largest country in South America, but also home to the world’s biggest
Number of projects
Brazil boasts vast natural resources but also struggles with corruption, unemployment, economic crisis and severe environmental degradation. The Church here not only spreads the faith but also serves as a vital advocate for the poorest and most neglected. The challenges are particularly great in the extremely poor north-eastern part of Brazil, which suffers from droughts. The Amazon region is also still characterised by great poverty. Although the jungle is rich in resources, the local population hardly benefits from them. Here, the Church often plays a key role in the fight against poverty and hopelessness. However, many remote villages in the jungle can only be reached by water, which makes pastoral work much more difficult. These dangerous journeys take many hours and often even days. During the reporting year, ACN once again
193
Type of projects
40
34
38
Catholic population. However, its number is dwindling: Catholics now only make up around 60% of the population of almost 214 million, and forecasts suggest that the number could soon shrink to as low as 40%.
1 36
1 29
4 10
Head of Section Marco Mencaglia
A Capuchin priest evangelising in the Brazilian jungle.
44 | ACN Activity Report 2024
| Latin America – Brazil
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