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The"Chute na santa" (Portuguese:Chute na santa - "kicking the saint") incident was a religious controversy that erupted inBrazil in late 1995, sparked by a live broadcast of a minister ofUniversal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG), the largestpentecostal church in Brazil, kicking the statue ofOur Lady of Aparecida, aCatholic saint.
The incident took place on October 12, 1995, the nationalpublic holiday honouring Our Lady of Aparecida, thepatron saint of Brazil.[1][2] That dawn, onO Despertar da Fé (English:The Awakening of Faith), a national live television program by UCKG broadcast onRede Record (owned by the same church),televangelist bishop Sérgio Von Helder was expressing his thoughts about his church's biblical teachings on "imagery" and "idolatry" on the saint's day, when an actualicon of the saint was shown. Then, as he walked around the image, talking about its inability "to see" and "to hear", he started to kick the image, proclaiming its "inability to react, because it's made ofclay".[1]
On the following day,Rede Globo'sJornal Nacional denounced the incident, causing a nationwide commotion. The event was perceived by Catholics as a major act ofreligious intolerance, sparking a public outcry. Several temples of the UCKG were the target of protests, and Von Helder had to be transferred toSouth Africa until the end of the controversy.[2]
Pope John Paul II urged Catholics not to "answer evil with evil". DomEugênio de Araújo Sales, thenArchbishop of Rio de Janeiro, said that "unless we control our emotions, there is the risk of aholy war".President of BrazilFernando Henrique Cardoso, when questioned about the incident, said that "Brazil is a democratic country known by its tolerance" and that "any demonstration of intolerance hurts its unison spirit as well as its Christian spirit".[1]
