In Brazil’s upcoming municipal elections, several priests are seeking office

Michie

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SÃO PAULO – Brazil is preparing for municipal elections on Nov. 15, and a surprising number of clerics are running for public office.

A survey carried out by the Brazilian news website Metrópoles showed that 1,012 people running for office included the title “Pastor” in the name they registered in the Electoral Justice system. Another 1,007 candidates have the title “Padre” – used by Catholic priests in the country – surprising, since Church law forbids clergy from running for office.

“Many of those candidates have left the holy orders years ago but kept ‘Father’ in their electoral names because that’s how they’re publicly known,” explained Archbishop Zanoni Demettino Castro of Feira de Santana, in Bahia State, noting a few cases in his own archdiocese.

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In Brazil's upcoming municipal elections, several priests are seeking office
 

Basil the Great

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I recall when the former Dem Congressman from MA who was a priest was forced to retire from Congress by the Church. Have things changed with Pope Francis?

------ Reading your post more carefully, I see that Church law has not changed, so this is most interesting.
 
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Michie

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I recall when the former Dem Congressman from MA who was a priest was forced to retire from Congress by the Church. Have things changed with Pope Francis?

------ Reading your post more carefully, I see that Church law has not changed, so this is most interesting.
They are no longer in the priesthood.
 
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