In Sao Paulo, Atheists protest against public spending for the Pope’s visit to Brazil: Members of the Association of Atheists and Agnostics (Atea in its Portuguese acronym) protested on Monday against public spending for both the Pope’s visit and the observance of World Youth Day in Brazil. With a hair dryer, they held ceremonies of “debaptism” in front of the Se Cathedral in downtown Sao Paulo. After symbolically drying the water of the sacrament of baptism, a person undergoing the ceremony received a certificate of participation in the act. "It’s okay to have the Pope come here, but that does not mean we should have to spend $850,000 reales for a reception for him or that the Brazilian Air Force should send a plane to the Vatican to bring his popemobile over here," said the President of Atea, Daniel Sottomaior. He also criticized the decree by the city of Rio de Janeiro of a four-day holiday because of the Pope’s visit. To Sottomaior, the money spent on the Pope’s visit is an example of how the doctrine of the separation of church and state is disrespected in Brazil.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Jul 2013 18:28:32 +0000