Two Christian leaders published opinion pieces in Folha de S.Paulo reflecting on the meaning of Christmas, emphasizing Jesus' humble incarnation and its relevance to contemporary human issues like vulnerability and solidarity.
On December 24, 2025, Folha de S.Paulo published two opinion pieces on Christmas by prominent Brazilian Christian figures. The Archbishop of Porto Alegre and president of the CNBB, Dom [name not specified in text], describes Christmas as the celebration of God's incarnation in human history about two millennia ago. He notes that December 25 is a theological date, not historical, and that Jesus was born amid misery in Bethlehem, one of Judea's smallest places, at midnight, warmed by animals, symbolizing creaturely compassion. 'The sublime and admirable aspect of Christmas is not only God's birth in time, but above all, God's birth in the intimacy of the human,' writes the archbishop, calling to renew trust in humanity and promote ethical and social initiatives based on faith.
In parallel, the theologian and Baptist pastor from Recife, founder of Instituto Solidare, explores the provocation of a 'God without privileges.' He recounts Jesus' birth in a manger, poor and marginalized in Bethlehem, with the family fleeing to Egypt as refugees, echoing current realities of vulnerable children in Brazil and the world. Referencing the 2022 flood in Coqueiral, Recife, where 2,500 houses were destroyed, the author states: 'Rising again there was not a metaphor, but a necessity.' Both texts link the biblical narrative to the urgency of caring for the fragile, overcoming divisions, and promoting peace and dignity in a disenchanted world.
These reflections, published on Christmas Eve, invite Christians and non-Christians to reconsider values like fraternity and justice, without romanticizing suffering but exposing it as part of the human condition.
