Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court has definitively closed the investigation into Father José Eduardo de Oliveira e Silva, who was suspected of involvement in the 2022 attempted coup to prevent the inauguration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes signed the decision on March 20, 2025, granting a request from the priest’s defense attorney, Miguel Vidigal, to permanently archive the case. The priest, from Osasco, São Paulo, had been named a suspect by the Federal Police in November 2024, allegedly part of a “legal core” advising on decrees for coup-related interests.
The broader investigation into the attempted coup continues to involve former President Jair Bolsonaro, his advisers, allies, military personnel, and former ministers. However, the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Republic declined to file formal charges against Father José Eduardo before the Supreme Court on February 18.
“It is to be hoped that the investigation against Father José Eduardo was an isolated incident on the part of the Brazilian state and that the religious freedoms enshrined in the Federal Constitution will be guaranteed,” Vidigal told ACI Digital. “Had these norms been observed, unfounded and slanderous messages… could have been avoided.”
The defense maintained that the priest’s visits to Brasília were solely for spiritual care and guidance, not conspiratorial purposes. “The Father had his private life exposed, yet he was never charged with any of the irregularities initially imputed to him,” Vidigal stated.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa and has been translated and adapted by EWTN News.
