THE AUTHOR purviews the role of the Catholic Church over the last decades, bringing to light its diversities and internal tensions, and highlighting its active presence in Brazilian public life. He examines the various instances of the relationship between the church and politics. Assessing the present time, and going counter to certain analyses, he affirms that social pastoral initiatives and the Grassroots Ecclesiastical Communities are still relevant today. He calls our attention to the ongoing crisis of the Church regarding certain issues that remain "frozen": women, sexuality, and the compulsory celibacy of the clergy. And he ends with the proposal, currently being discussed, to begin preparations for a future council.
