Pope Francis' visit to Brazil is turning out to be rather consequential
You will see images of Pope Francis greeted by many well-wishers and happy faces. However, there is a lot of anger in Brazil and the Pope won't avoid it:
"Shoppers here with a notion of what items cost abroad need to brace themselves when buying a Samsung Galaxy S4 phone: the same model that costs $615 in the United States is nearly double that in Brazil. An even bigger shock awaits parents needing a crib: the cheapest one at Tok & Stok costs over $440, more than six times the price of a similarly made item at Ikea in the United States.
For Brazilians seething with resentment over wasteful spending by the country's political elite, the high prices they must pay for just about everything -- a large cheese pizza can cost almost $30 -- only fuel their ire. "
"While Brazil still has more Catholics than any other nation -- an estimated 123 million -- rising secularism and the fast-growing Protestant churches have challenged centuries of Catholic supremacy in Latin America's largest country. Only 65 percent of the Brazilian population now identifies itself as Catholic, down from 92 percent in 1970." (NY Times)
""We've got nothing against the pope," said Christopher Creindel, a 22-year-old art student from Rio who was protesting outside the palace. "This protest is against our politicians." "