Aviz was ordained a priest 26 November 1972. He began his ministry as a parish priest in the diocese of Apucarana, as Rector of the Major Seminary Apucarana and Londrina, and as professor of dogmatic theology at the Theological Institute Paul VI in Londrina. He was also member of the Council of Priests and the College of Consultors and General Coordinator of the Diocesan Pastoral Apucarana. As a young priest Aviz was once on his way to a village to say Mass when he stumbled upon an armored car robbery. He was caught in the crossfire and shot, with bullets perforating his lungs and intestines and one eye. He survived and surgeons were able to save his eye; he still carries fragments of those bullets in his body.[1]
On 4 January 2011, Aviz, not a member of a religious order, was appointed prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.[2][a] He is the fourth Brazilian to head a Vatican department.[b]
In February 2011, Aviz said he almost abandoned the seminary and the Catholic Church because of the ideological excesses that emerged in the early years of liberation theology. He said in an interview that "Personally, I lived with a lot of anguish during the years of the birth of liberation theology". He said he appreciated that liberation theology promoted the preferential option for the poor, which represents "the church's sincere and responsible concern for the vast phenomenon of social exclusion." He said consecrated men and women need to explore more deeply the mystery of God to strengthen their relationships with others.[3]
In July 2011, he referred to a breakdown in trust between the Vatican and many religious orders because of "some positions taken previously", referring to his predecessor, Cardinal Franc Rode, who decried a "crisis" in religious life following the Second Vatican Council (1962–65) which he believed to have fostered excessively liberalizing currents in some communities of religious. Braz said that he recognizes there are problems, but his main aim is to "rebuild trust" by approaching issues in a new way, "without preemptive condemnations" and "by listening to people's concerns."[4]
In his memoirs, published in 2022, Cardinal Rode recounts his astonishment at hearing of the appointment of Braz as his successor. The first to inform him of Braz was Pietro Sambi, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States. He described Braz as "un fanatico focolarino" ("a fanatic focolarino", a member of the Focolare Movement). According to Rode, the fact that a female secretary of Tarcisio Bertone, Cardinal Secretary of State, was also a fervent member of the Focolare Movement contributed to the appointment of Braz.[5]
On 4 March 2022, he was elevated to the rank of cardinal priest.[11]
Notes
^Since 1973, prelates ordained for religious orders and for dioceses have alternated in holding the post of prefect of the congregation overseeing religious in the Catholic Church. In the past 100 years, 11 of the 18 prefects did not belong to a religious order.