A Continent crucified

Episode of Series “Sweat of the sun, tears of the moon”.
Nine out of ten South Americans are Catholic. But what is the Catholic Church doing for the people over which it has had such a strong hold for centuries? Jack Pizzey tries to answer these questions by first visiting Quito in Ecuador for Holy Week, a week of dramatic religious spectacle honouring “Jesus of Great Power”. In a continent with such extremes of wealth and poverty, the Catholic Church is faced with either supporting the ruling classes or campaigning for change. Father John Drexel epitomises the “relief” priest and has worked in the slums of Sao Paolo, Brazil, for twenty years. Pizzey also investigates the flexibility of the Church in accomodating the African Cult, Umbanda, practised by 30% of Brazilians, many of whom are Catholic.