None of that addresses the issue at hand, which was the allegation that Brazil is about to legalize abortion. In fact, the governing coalition is moving to prohibite the destruction of artifically conceived embryos, and babies deemed incapable of surviving birth. The bishops have repeatedly urged that Brazilians may not vote for pro-abortion candidates. The bishops' conference statement was controversial not because it instructed Brazilians that they could not be faithful Catholics and vote pro-abortion, but because characterized all Workers' Party candidates as pro-abortion.
As for the implication that the Catholic church is Leftist, it is true that Catholics were a key constitutency of the Workers' Party. Being a predominantly Catholic country, any successful political party must have Catholics as a key constituency. However, as Cardinal Bergoglio, Pope Francis' opposition to such Leftist strains in the Latin American church made him chief target of such Leftists. Claims which turned out to be false that Bergoglio was involved with war crimes for the right-wing military junta which had run Argentina probably cost him the papacy in 2005, when Pope Benedict was chosen instead. As such, he is believed to have finished second, nonetheless.
And still no documentation to support the accusation.
BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) President Dilma Rousseff has approved a controversial law that guarantees women who've been victims of sexual violence access to medical and psychological treatment.
The measure came under fire from the Catholic church because it guarantees access to emergency contraceptives, like the so-called morning after pill.
Church officials had called on Rousseff to veto that article, as well as one stipulating abused women be informed of their right to an abortion. The procedure is illegal in Brazil except for in a few cases, including the rape of the mother.
However, Rousseff signed off Thursday on text without making any vetoes. The law will take effect on Friday, when it appears in the government's official journal.
Women's Policy Minister Eleonora Minicucci said the measure "spells respect for women who suffer sexual violence."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10907182
Bad news breaking.