One of the reasons for my visit to Brazil was to attend and present a talk at a meeting of pro-life leaders, which took place at the Sacred Hearts Retreat House in Brasilia. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Humberto Vieira, Executive Director of HLI's affiliate in Brazil, Pro Vida Familia, and included speakers from various parts of the pro-life movement in Brazil.

Damares Regina Alves, an Evangelical representing the Evangelical Parliamentary Front and ATINI - Voice for Life - showed a DVD about the horrendous practice still in force among Brazilian Indians to bury children alive when they are born with physical defects (including having a hare lip), are twins, or are simply unwanted. There are many people campaigning to stop the practice and rescue the unwanted children. However, the government agency in charge of native Indian affairs, the FUNAI ("Indian National Foundation"), refuses to interfere because it is their "culture," and therefore they must be left alone. The equivalent agency in the Catholic Church, the CIMI ("Missionary Indigenist Council"),also looks the other way from the cold-blooded murder of children and even refuses to help secure their being adopted outside of the tribe. I met a 14-year-old Indian girl who had been buried alive and later saved by her brother.

Paulo Fernandes Melo da Costa, a Catholic representing PROVIDAFAMILIA, together with the meeting's chairman, Dr. Humberto Vieira, explained what was being done and what more could be done to have pro-life bills passed in Congress and anti-life bills blocked. He is a very good attorney and a knowledgeable man regarding parliamentary procedures. He was unanimously elected Secretary-General of the newlyformed Pro-Life Network in Brazil ("Rede pro-Vida").

I addressed the group and spoke on the current process of de-Christianization in the West, especially regarding family values, thus giving a wider view to the pro-life movement in Brazil. I am grateful for the support given to my presentation by all participants, who said they understood better the role of HLI in the worldwide fight for life. They were delighted with the idea of "Seminarians for Life," the newsletter, the email system, the expansion throughout the Portuguese-speaking world, and they insisted that I keep in touch with all of them.

A PRO-LIFE NETWORK IN BRAZIL

The first two days ran rather smoothly, as talks were given with very lively participation from the audience (as is usual in Brazil). By the last day, however, a prolonged discussion took place regarding the nature, goals, and modus operandi of the proposed national Pro-Life Network. Originally, Dr. Humberto Vieira had wanted a nationwide organization, whose members would be closely linked to the national body; but in the end, other views prevailed, and a rather loose network of autonomous groups was formed into a new juridical entity. In my opinion, it was a balanced compromise and a good step towards giving the pro-life movement a national, united voice, while respecting the autonomy of its members.

Dr. Vieira took me to visit Bishop Dimas Barbosa, the Secretary of the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops, who received us very cordially and showed interest in the work of HLI, especially in the Portuguesespeaking world. He mentioned that a conference of Portuguese-speaking bishops ("Lusophones") would hold a meeting in Macau later in September, and he volunteered to put me in touch with one of the meeting's organizers, who lives in Portugal, in order to secure contacts for future use in the Portuguese-speaking community of nations. He liked the idea of "Seminarians for Life" and was pleased with the development of closer relationships with HLI. All in all, it was a very positive first major step in enabling HLI to work with the Church in Brazil.

In the evening, I gave a one-hour talk at Our Lady of Fatima Archdiocesan Seminary to approximately 100 seminarians. The topic was the culture of death in the context of the de-Christianization of the contemporary world and the necessity of a well-formed battalion of seminarians to confront it. They responded very well, including the priest in charge, a missionary from Colombia, who thanked me for "opening their horizons to the Cause of Life from the local to the worldwide perspective." Seminarian João Paulo is the leader of the Seminarians for Life chapter there, a group of 23 seminarians committed to the Culture of Life. We agreed to keep in touch via email, newsletter, and live chats. He and his friends will make efforts to recruit more seminarians from other places in Brazil.

THE YOUNG FLOCK TO A BRAZILIAN "MARCH FOR LIFE"

Dr. Vieira and I participated in the March for Life called "Brazil Without Abortion." A tall truck with very powerful loudspeakers led the parade, which numbered 20-25 thousand people, at least half of them young.

It started around the cathedral and ended in front of the Congress and Government buildings. Dom João, the archbishop of Brasilia attended the parade, together with a priest of the diocese. I was given the opportunity to address the crowd twice and did so in my capacity as HLI representative and later as a Brazilian citizen.

It was very encouraging to see all the young people there. In my capacity as a Brazilian-born citizen, I had a thing or two to say about the role of abortionists in the Congress and the Senate, as well as the Presidency. The applause indicated that there was a growing discontent with the politicians' performance on the abortion issue, to say the least.

After the March, I went to visit the parish of a 35-year-old Polish priest who is a very enthusiastic prolifer. He placed over 20 large placards at the main bus station of Brasilia, where thousands of people pass by to catch their buses home. I had dinner in his parish, and he was delighted with having made my acquaintance. He gave me DVDs and other material to promote - all in Portuguese.

BROADCASTING THE MESSAGE OF LIFE

I then flew to São Paulo and was taken to a town in the interior of the State, Jacareí, where a very active youth group works to fight abortion. Their leader, Jeferson Moraes, took me to the local Catholic radio station, where I was interviewed for 45 minutes. The radio folks want me to contact them from time to time to report HLI news that may interest Brazilians. Jeferson has been in touch with Executive Director of HLI's Hispanic Division, Vida Humana Internacional, Magaly Llaguno, and is organizing a network of youth groups in five Latin-American countries.

From Jacareí, I was taken to the Canção Nova Television Station, where I was interviewed for an hour and a half. The interview was broadcast live via satellite and internet. During the program, several people sent emails asking questions. These emails came from several different states of Brazil, and one even came from New Zealand. The program host, Prof. Felipe Aquino, well-known in Brazil as a lay apologist and author, was very happy to meet me and said that the program is open to me whenever I visit Brazil. When I got back home, there were over 40 emails from people who saw the program and offered support.

The following morning, I was taken to the Interdiocesan Mater Ecclesiae Seminary in the diocese of Campo Limpo, near São Paulo. They brought in some 110 seminarians, coming from all over the country. The talk was very well-received, I was invited to return, and the priests volunteered to put me in contact with their counterparts in the US for future cooperation.

Early in the evening of the same day, I attended a private meeting with some 10 members of the Esperança e Vida pro-life group (Hope and Life), with whom HLI has already cooperated in Portugal and Uruguay.