Conosco, sem nós ou contra nós: a Igreja Católica e a sua proposta de reforma agrária como estratégia de reposicionamento dentro da sociedade na segunda metade do século XX.

Abstract

This research was carried out with the intention of a greater understanding about the repositioning of the Catholic Church in the Brazilian society from its proposal of Agrarian Reform, elaborated between the years of 1950 to 1964. To aid in its understanding an analysis of how originated the Church's Social Doctrine, what were the inflections of the Church after its separation from the State at the end of the 19th century and, the implications perceived by the Church, due to the presentation of the first agrarian reform proposal, presented by the Brazilian Communist Party. At the beginning of the second half of the 20th century, Brazil underwent profound social changes in the countryside. The problem of the lack of access to land ownership, experienced by millions of Brazilians, was gradually becoming a very debated topic among the various sectors of society. Among them, the Catholic Church, which, concerned with the direction the discussion was taking and in order to anticipate the revolution, convened, in September 1950, the 1st Ruralist Week held in the city of Campanha (MG). During the following years, the debate on agrarian reform gained more and more space within its hierarchical body. In September 1954, the Second General Assembly of the CNBB released the first document on the topic: The Church and agrarian reform. In 1956, the northeastern bishops met in the city of Campina Grande (PB) and, in 1959, in the capital of Rio Grande do Norte. From 1960 onwards, meetings of bishops began to be called by the CNBB itself. In October 1961 and 1963, the CNBB president convened the CNBB Central Commission to reflect on the publication of the encyclicals Mater et Magistra and Pacem in Terris, and their relationship with the agrarian issue. During the government of João Goulart (1961-1964), the rural worker statute was approved and the Church supported the Basic Reforms. The research will follow the chronological order of the facts that occurred between the years of 1950 and 1964 and, will be made analyzes of the ecclesial documents and bibliographies on the subject. The Catholic Church, benefiting from a composite secular model, which enabled a kind of cooperation with the State, became a public religion and, adapted to the new challenges of contemporary times, to preserve its interests. Faced with the threat of losing space, she tried to present a series of social projects with the purpose of continuing to exert influence within society.