ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the work of Comissao Pastoral da Terra (CPT) agents within the Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Terra (MST): the concrete contexts in which they enter the settlements and the religio-political messages they convey there. It assesses the ways in which liberationist Catholic ideas have become part of the everyday commonsense of the MST rank and file. It is not surprising that MST leaders with liberationist Catholic roots keep the doors of the camps and settlements under their jurisdiction open to the pastoral agents of the CPT. The first social context in which the CPT agents interact with MST rank and file is the Sunday celebration or, when a priest is present. The MST rank and file have marched in the romarias since the early 1980s.26 From the point of view of both the CPT and MST leaders, the romaria offered an ideal opportunity to publicize the plight of the landless workers’ struggle, and to counteract anti-MST propaganda.
