VZCZCXRO6842
PP RUEHRG RUEHROV
DE RUEHSO #0250/01 0861625
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 271625Z MAR 07
FM AMCONSUL SAO PAULO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6660
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 7785
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 3482
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 7939
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 2685
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 0471
RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 2973
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 2312
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 2024
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ 3289
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 0556
RUEHROV/AMEMBASSY VATICAN
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0243
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SAO PAULO 000250 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/BSC, EUR/WE, AND DRL/IRF 
STATE PASS USTR FOR CRONIN 
NSC FOR FEARS 
DEPT OF TREASURY FOR OASIA, DAS LEE AND JHOEK 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
USAID FOR LAC/AA 
PARIS FOR ECON - TOM WHITE 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: SCUL PREL PGOV PINR ECON BR
SUBJECT: SAO PAULO GETS NEW ARCHBISHOP 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1.  Summary: On March 21, Pope Benedict XVI named Bishop Odilo Pedro 
Scherer, Secretary-General of the National Conference of Bishops of 
Brazil (CNBB), to be the next Archbishop of Sao Paulo.  Dom Odilo 
replaces Dom Claudio Hummes, who in October of last year was named 
Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy.  The new 
Archbishop served previously as Auxiliary Bishop of Sao Paulo under 
Cardinal Hummes and is expected to provide continuity to the world's 
third largest archdiocese.  Dom Odilo has been considered a 
conservative voice in the CNBB,  meaning that he has opposed having 
the Church tied to any political party and has spoken out on behalf 
of traditional moral values.  At the same time, he strongly supports 
Catholics' participation in politics, arguing that disdain for the 
political process can create a vacuum opening the way to tyranny and 
dictatorship.  Bishop Scherer is scheduled to be sworn in on April 
29 and will likely have high visibility during the Pope's May 9-13 
visit to Sao Paulo.  There is already considerable speculation that 
he will receive his Cardinal's red hat in the next few years.  End 
Summary. 
 
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BIOGRAPHIC NOTE 
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¶2.  Odilo Scherer was born in 1949 in Cerro Largo, Rio Grande do Sul 
state.  Like his two immediate predecessors, Hummes (1998-2006) and 
Cardinal Paulo Evaristo Arns (1970-1998), he is a southern Brazilian 
of German heritage (his grandparents were German immigrants). 
Scherer grew up in Curitiba, capital of Parana state, and in Toledo 
in the rural western part of the state.  His father owned a small 
plot of land and supported his eleven children by selling 
agricultural goods.  Dom Odilo was ordained in 1976 and was 
consecrated bishop in 2002.  He has spent many years in Rome, 
serving in several Vatican offices and pursuing advanced studies at 
the Gregorian University, earning a Master's and a Doctorate in 
theology.  In 2002 he returned to Brazil to take up duties as 
Auxiliary Bishop of Sao Paulo, and was elected in 2003 to his 
current position at the CNBB. 
 
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PARTICIPATION IN POLITICS IS HEALTHY 
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¶3.  Bishop Scherer represents a new generation of Brazilian Catholic 
bishops who, under the influence of Pope John Paul II, helped reduce 
the influence of liberation theology over the Church in Brazil.  He 
is expected as Archbishop to devote more attention to religious and 
moral issues and less to politics.  This does not mean, however, 
that he will avoid political confrontations should they arise.   In 
contrast to Cardinal Hummes, who is moderate, subtle, and 
understated, Bishop Odilo is considered plain-spoken and politically 
independent.  In a December 2006 interview, he decried a "prejudice 
against politics" on the part of those Brazilians who, alienated by 
corruption scandals, suspended their participation in political 
life.  The idea of waiting until the system has been cleansed of 
corruption, he said, doesn't work.  Rather, the faithful should 
enter the political arena to help make it cleaner and more 
transparent.  "I don't think we can wait for angels to come down 
from heaven to govern Brazil.  Chaos arises from the hatred of 
politics, and absolutism gains the upper hand.  Hatred of politics 
leads to despotism." 
 
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COMMENT 
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SAO PAULO 00000250  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶4.  One challenge facing the new Archbishop is the impressive growth 
of evangelical protestant movements, which now boast approximately 
22 million followers in Brazil, many of them former Catholics. 
Scherer's friends and family note that he grew up in a rural area of 
southern Brazil with a mixture of Catholics and Lutherans and was 
ecumenical before it became popular.  His mission is to help the 
Church in Brazil to return to its religious roots while at the same 
time broadening its popular appeal.  In this regard, he expressed 
the intention of continuing his predecessors' efforts to raise the 
profile and relevance of the Church in the periphery of metropolitan 
Sao Paulo, which remains rife with poverty, social exclusion, and 
violence.  Right now, Scherer's immediate priority is to lead 
efforts to prepare for the May 9-13 visit of the Pope, who is 
scheduled to inaugurate a conference of Latin American and Caribbean 
bishops at the national shrine in Aparecida, Sao Paulo state, and to 
canonize the first Brazilian-born saint, Frei Antonio Galvao 
(1739-1822).  End Comment. 
 
¶5.  This cable was coordinated with Embassy Brasilia. 
 
MCMULLEN