June 15, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Brazilian Catholic bishop Luis Gonzaga Bergonzini, a pro-life crusader who recently sued “Catholics for the Right to Decide” for “moral damage,” has died.
Bergonzini, who last year won Human Life International’s Cardinal Von Galen award, was best known to the Brazilian public for his decision to print 2.1 million flyers during the 2010 elections condemning presidential candidate Dilma Rousseff and Brazil’s Labor Party for their support for abortion and homosexual “marriage.”
The flyers were seized by Brazil’s Federal Police, and held until after the election, which was won by Rousseff following her decision to sign a pledge not to introduce any legislation to legalize abortion or prohibit the freedom of speech of those who condemn homosexual behavior. Bergonzini responded to the confiscation by calling the Labor Party, “the party of lies and of death.”
Bergonzini also made headlines earlier this year when he chose to sue “Catholics for the Right to Decide,” the Latin American sister organization of “Catholics for Choice,” for “moral damages” for misrepresenting the Catholic Church’s teaching on abortion. He was also widely quoted for advocating the firing of homosexualist and pro-abortion professors at Brazil’s Pontifical Catholic University (PUC).
“If the PUC is a Catholic university, [professors] must follow the Gospel and Christian morality,” wrote Bergonzini on his blog, adding that the PUC “cannot have teaching professors who contradict the teachings of the Church, inside or outside of the classroom.”
“Abortionist professors, and those who defend euthanasia, the legalization of marijuana, homosexual ideology, or those who are communist can find schools that defend those ideas,” wrote Bergonzini.
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“The Church and the world have lost a great champion for Truth, Faith and Life,” said Fr. Shenon Boquet, President of Human Life International. “His example of courageous leadership has inspired many thousands to live in accordance with the will of God, which is the greatest gift any bishop can give. It is this example of stalwart faith and his great love for those he served that inspired us to award him our highest honor, the Cardinal von Galen Award, in November of 2011.”
“Those of us who had the opportunity to meet Bishop Bergonzini last year were immediately struck by his joy and peace. He truly was a priest who passionately lived the Gospel of Christ. He suffered greatly in his life, standing up for the Culture of Life, but always did his work with a smile.”
Bergonzini served as Bishop of Garulhos, Brazil (a suburb of Sao Paulo), from 1992 until he retired in November of 2011.