Abstract
The present article analyzes the performance of Pastoral da Criança, a CNBB (Brazilian Bishops National Conference) social action organization. Pastoral da Criança was founded in 1983 and was coordinated for almost thirty years by the pediatric doctor and catholic activist Zilda Arns Neumann (1934-2010). Focusing on Arns’ stated reasons to justify the creation of Pastoral da Criança and on her record of its first years of action, we want to demonstrate how she created a spirituality of action. Doing so, she managed to link private creed and public intervention in a time of crisis both in Brazilian political scene and in local Catholic Church.
Keywords
christian social action; vulnerable childhood; Zilda Arns; Pastoral da Criança