José Cardoso Sobrinho (born 30 June 1933, in Caruaru) is the Archbishop Emeritus of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Olinda e Recife The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Olinda and Recife ( la, Archidioecesis Olindensis et Recifensis) is a Latin metropolitan archdiocese in northeast Brazil's Pernambuco state. Special churches * Its cathedral archiepiscopal see is a World Herit ...

in the

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian state of

Pernambuco Pernambuco () is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it List of Brazilian states by population, sev ...

. He joined the Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in 1957 and was appointed bishop of Paracatu in 1979. Sobrinho is the successor of

Hélder Câmara Hélder Pessoa Câmara (7 February 1909 – 27 August 1999) was a Brazilian Catholic archbishop. A self-identified socialism, socialist, he was the Archbishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Olinda e Recife, Olinda and Recife, serving from 196 ...

and had been tasked with undoing the influence of

liberation theology Liberation theology is a Christian theological approach emphasizing the liberation of the oppressed. In certain contexts, it engages socio-economic analyses, with "social concern for the poor and political liberation for oppressed peoples". I ...

in that region of Brazil.

2009 statement of excommunication

In March 2009, after an abortion on a nine-year-old girl raped by her stepfather and pregnant with twins had been performed due to rape exception of Brazil’s abortion laws, Sobrinho stated that automatic

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

had been incurred by the girl's mother and the medical team. Regarding his statement, he said: President Lula da Silva and Health Minister José Gomes Temporão decried his statement. The

National Conference of Bishops of Brazil The National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (Portuguese: Conferência Nacional dos Bispos do Brasil, CNBB) brings together the Catholic Bishops of Brazil, as the Code of Canon Law, "jointly exercise certain pastoral functions on behalf of the fai ...

disowned it, saying that the mother was certainly not excommunicated and there was insufficient evidence to show that any member of the medical team was. The statement was also criticized in the Vatican newspaper ''

L'Osservatore Romano ''L'Osservatore Romano'' (, 'The Roman Observer') is the daily newspaper of Vatican City State which reports on the activities of the Holy See and events taking place in the Catholic Church and the world. It is owned by the Holy See but is not ...

'' by the President of the

Pontifical Academy for Life The Pontifical Academy for Life or Pontificia Accademia per la Vita is a Pontifical Academy of the Roman Catholic Church dedicated to promoting the Church's consistent life ethic. It also does related research on bioethics and Catholic moral the ...

, Cardinal

Rino Fisichella Salvatore Fisichella (born 25 August 1951), commonly known as Rino Fisichella, is an Italian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church with the rank of archbishop. He is the current Pro-prefect for the Section of New Evangelization of the Dicastery ...

. One of the doctors concerned said the controversy had drawn needed attention to Brazil's restrictive abortion laws.

Retirement

Sobrinho's resignation was accepted when he reached the canonical age limit upon turning 75 in 2008. His successor is , previously Bishop of Sobral

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sobrinho, Jose Cardoso 1933 births 2009 in Brazil 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Brazil Carmelite bishops Living people People from Caruaru 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Brazil Roman Catholic archbishops of Olinda e Recife People from Paracatu, Minas Gerais