埃莱奥诺雷·休斯 发自里约热内卢 — 在10月4日投票日前夕，巴西的守护圣人阿帕雷西达圣母（Our Lady of Aparecida）意外地成为了一个选举议题。
ELÉONORE HUGHES RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil’s patron saint, Our Lady of Aparecida, has become a surprise election issue just days ahead of the Oct. 4 vote.
总统候选人、参议员弗拉维奥·博尔索纳罗（Flávio Bolsonaro）上周关于耶稣的一番言论在网上疯传，并在许多天主教徒中引发了担忧，他们担心他可能会打算罢免这位在巴西民众中广受爱戴的守护圣人。
A comment on Jesus by presidential candidate Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro went viral last week and triggered fears among many Catholics that he might intend to remove the patron saint, a widely beloved figure among Brazilians.
作为前总统雅伊尔·博尔索纳罗（Jair Bolsonaro）的儿子以及现任总统路易斯·伊纳西奥·卢拉·达席尔瓦（Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva）的主要竞争对手，他否认了这一说法，并称这些指控是“一个巨大的谎言”和“竞选活动中最大的假新闻”。根据巴西国家地理统计局2022年的人口普查，在这个拉丁美洲最大的国家里，约有56.7%的人口信仰天主教，26.9%信仰福音派。围绕阿帕雷西达圣母的这场争端，将宗教推到了竞选的核心位置。
The son of former president Jair Bolsonaro and main rival against incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva denies the claim and has called the accusations a “great lie” and “the biggest fake news of the campaign.”The row over Our Lady of Aparecida has propelled religion to the heart of the campaign in Latin America’s biggest country, where around 56.7% of the population is Catholic and 26.9% Evangelical, according to a 2022 census by Brazil’s national statistics agency.
民意调查显示，在周日的选举到来之前，卢拉和博尔索纳罗的选情十分胶着。如果两人均未获得绝对多数票，将于10月25日举行第二轮投票。美联社（AP）对这场争端及其重要性作出了阐述。
Polls show Lula and Bolsonaro in a close race ahead of the election on Sunday. If neither wins an outright majority, a runoff vote will take place on Oct. 25. The AP explains the row and why it matters.
在8月23的一段视频中，参议员博尔索纳罗表示，他将“宣布巴西属于主耶稣基督”。一些天主教徒将此解读为这位总统候选人将罢免阿帕雷西达圣母作为巴西守护圣人的地位。卢拉的支持者在社交媒体上放大了这种理解。
In an Aug. 23 video, Sen. Bolsonaro said that he would “declare that Brazil belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ.”Some Catholics interpreted that as meaning that the presidential candidate would remove Our Lady of Aparecida as Brazil’s patron saint. Lula supporters on social media amplified that understanding.
他们指出了一项在2007年提出的旨在实现这一目的的法案，该法案由时任议员维克托里奥·加利（Victório Galli）提出。加利是博尔索纳罗的盟友，曾担任雅伊尔·博尔索纳罗政府的特别顾问。该提案后来被搁置。
They pointed to a 2007 bill with that intention presented by then-lawmaker Victório Galli, a Bolsonaro ally who served as special adviser to Jair Bolsonaro’s administration. The proposal was later shelved.
尽管当地媒体报道称，博尔索纳罗家族与一名曾为主张此类举动的主教有联系，但参议员博尔索纳罗本人从未表示过他支持罢免阿帕雷西达圣母的巴西守护圣人地位，并强烈驳斥了这些指控。周二，这位总统候选人表示，他指的是祈祷等象征性行为。
While local media has reported ties between the Bolsonaro family and a bishop that has defended such a move, Sen. Bolsonaro himself has never said he supports the removal of Our Lady of Aparecida as Brazil’s patron saint and has strongly refuted the accusations. On Tuesday, the presidential candidate said he was referring to a symbolic act such as a prayer.
巴西总统无权撤销“阿帕雷西达圣母”（Our Lady of Aparecida）的这一称号——这一决定属于梵蒂冈的专属权力。1930年，教皇庇护十一世宣布“阿帕雷西达圣母”为巴西的守护圣人，此后巴西政府也正式承认了这一称号。
Brazil’s president does not have the authority to demote Our Lady of Aparecida. That is a Vatican prerogative. Pope Pius XI declared Our Lady of Aparecida Brazil’s patron saint in 1930, a title that the Brazilian state later recognized.
在一场竞选活动中，博索纳罗参议员声称巴西主教团（CNBB）协助卢拉领导的工人党散布了相关谣言。巴西主教团对此予以否认，并在声明中表示：“不能用谎言来对抗谎言。”分析人士指出，这一指控之所以迅速传播，是因为它触动了天主教徒对于自己在即将到来的选举中可能被福音派取代的担忧。过去三十年来，福音派信徒的比例几乎增长了两倍，从1991年的9%上升到了2022年的26.9%。
At a campaign event, Sen. Bolsonaro claimed the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops, known by its Portuguese acronym CNBB, had helped Lula’s Workers’ Party to spread the rumor. The CNBB denied the accusations, stating in a statement that “a lie cannot be fought with another lie.”Analysts say that the accusation became viral because it tapped into Catholics’ fears over losing ground to Evangelicals in the upcoming vote. Over three decades, the percentage of Evangelicals has nearly tripled, rising from 9% in 1991 to 26.9% in 2022.
“天主教徒担心福音派的崛起可能导致巴西重要的国家象征和文化标志被剥夺，”里约热内卢联邦大学的人类学教授罗德里戈·托尼奥尔（Rodrigo Toniol）说道。
“Catholics worry that the increase of Evangelicalism could translate into the removal of important national symbols and cultural markers of Catholicism,” said Rodrigo Toniol, an anthropology professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.
由于民调显示选情势均力敌，这场争议可能会削弱博索纳罗参议员的总统竞选前景，因为这会削弱他在天主教徒中的支持率。托尼奥尔表示：“这确实可能影响选民的投票决策，不过我们只有等到周日选举结果出来后才能知道其具体影响程度。”
With polls showing a dead heat, the controversy could weaken the presidential bid of Sen. Bolsonaro, who is Evangelical, by diminishing his clout among Catholics . “It can have an impact on voting, although we will only know how big of an impact on Sunday,” Toniol said.
作为天主教徒的卢拉在周一的竞选活动中并未直接指名博索纳罗参议员，但他对支持者说：“只要我仍是总统，就绝不会有人亵渎‘阿帕雷西达圣母’。”博索纳罗的律师已向巴西选举当局提出投诉，要求他们介入调查。这一事件再次引发了巴西最高司法机构内部的权力斗争。
Lula, a Catholic, invoked the accusation without naming Sen. Bolsonaro, telling supporters gathered at a campaign event on Monday: “As long as I am President of the Republic, no one will make a mockery of Our Lady of Aparecida.”Sen. Bolsonaro’s lawyers lodged a complaint with Brazil’s electoral authorities, asking them to intervene. That prompted another episode in the power struggle saga among Brazil’s top justices.
安德烈·门东卡（André Mendonca）法官是在雅伊尔·博索纳罗执政期间被任命的，他于周五下令撤下那些声称博索纳罗会撤销“阿帕雷西达圣母”守护圣人称号的出版物。
Justice André Mendonca, who was nominated during Jair Bolsonaro’s administration, on Friday ordered the removal of publications that said Sen. Bolsonaro would remove Our Lady of Aparecida’s title as patron saint of Brazil.
两天后，曾于2023年至2024年担任卢拉司法部长的大法官弗拉维奥·迪诺推翻了该裁决。周一，大法官路易斯·福克斯——在博索纳罗政变案审判中唯一投票认定其无罪的大法官——推翻了迪诺的决定。
Two days later, Justice Flávio Dino, who was Lula’s justice minister from 2023 to 2024, overturned the ruling. On Monday, Justice Luiz Fux — the only justice who voted to absolve Jair Bolsonaro in his coup trial — reversed Dino’s decision.
巴西最高选举机构周三就此事召开会议，但截至发稿时仍未作出决定。
Brazil’s top electoral authority held a session on the matter on Wednesday, but had not yet reached a decision at the time of publication.