D.Diego (CC)

 

Baptism in a river

The Floor approved on Wednesday (26) a proposal that regulates the constitutional right of free exercise of creed and religious cults. The subject now goes to the Senate.

Shaped on the same mold of the Proposal to Legislative Decree 1736/09, approved on the same session, the Bill 5598/09, of deputy George Hilton (PP-MG), repeats several articles from the agreement between Brazil and the Vatican, fitting them to all religions.

The approved text is from the clean bill of Deputy Eduardo Cunha (PMDB-RJ), that made changes in the original wording to change the style of an international agreement.

Laws about matters such as inexistence of employment bond between religious people and churches, already recognized by the Brazilian legal system, are guaranteed. Priests of all religions may have access, legal requirements attended, to people of the congregation held in medical care or confined in jails.

Religion at the streets
One of the innovations in relation to the Vatican treaty is the assurance of free religious manifestation in public places, whether with or without musical escort, provided that it does not bother the “order and public peace”.

The text affirms that no building for religious purpose may be demolished, occupied or pawned, attended the social function of the property.

Chaplains
When performing spiritual guidance in the military forces, the proposal assures that either creed will constitute its own organization with the purpose to manage, to coordinate and oversee such guidance to its followers.

Thereto, it should be assured equality of conditions, honors and handling to all creeds.

Teaching
Concerning the religious teaching, instead of forbidding the discrimination of any creed in the execution of this course in public schools (as happened in the case of the treaty with the Vatican), the proposal forbids the proselytism, which is the action to catechize a person.

Criminal Code
The proposal also establishes that the violation to freedom of creed and to the protection of religious places and its liturgies subjects the violator to the enactment of the Criminal Code, besides the civil responsibility for damages caused.

Reporting – Eduardo Piovesan
Edition – João Pitella Junior
Translation - Grupo Solucion-SP Language/Edgar Casadei