Soon after returning to Brazil, Pedro II was faced with an unexpected crisis.
The Brazilian clergy had long been understaffed, undisciplined and poorly educated, leading to a great loss of respect for the Catholic Church.
The imperial government had embarked upon a program of reform to address these deficiencies.
As Catholicism was the state religion, the government exercised a great deal of control over Church affairs, paying clerical salaries, appointing parish priests, nominating bishops, ratifying papal bulls and overseeing seminaries.
In pursuing reform, the government selected bishops who satisfied its criteria for education, support for reform and moral fitness.
However, as more capable men began to fill the clerical ranks, resentment of government control over the Church increased.

The bishops of Olinda and Belém (in the provinces of Pernambuco and Pará, respectively) were two of the new generation of educated, zealous Brazilian clerics.
They had been influenced by the Ultramontanism which spread among Catholics in this period.
In 1872 they ordered Freemasons expelled from lay brotherhoods.
While European Masonry often tended towards atheism and anti-clericalism, things were much different in Brazil where membership in Masonic orders was common—although Pedro II himself was not a Freemason.
The government headed by the Viscount of Rio Branco tried on two separate occasions to persuade the bishops to repeal, but they refused.
This led to their trial and conviction by the Superior Court of Justice.
In 1874 they were sentenced four years at hard labor, although the Emperor commuted this to imprisonment only.

Pedro II played a decisive role by unequivocally backing the government's actions.
He was a conscientious adherent of Catholicism, which he viewed as advancing important civilizing and civic values.
While he avoided anything that could be considered unorthodox, he felt free to think and behave independently.
The Emperor accepted new ideas, such as Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, of which he remarked that "the laws that he [Darwin] has discovered glorify the Creator".
He was moderate in his religious beliefs, but could not accept disrespect to civil law and government authority.
As he told his son-in-law: "[The government] has to ensure that the constitution is obeyed.
In these proceedings there is no desire to protect masonry; but rather the goal of upholding the rights of the civilian power."
The crisis was resolved in September 1875 after the Emperor grudgingly agreed to grant full amnesty to the bishops and the Holy See annulled the interdicts.
Soon after returning to Brazil, Pedro II was faced with an unexpected crisis. The Brazilian clergy had long been understaffed, undisciplined and poorly educated, leading to a great loss of respect for the Catholic Church. The imperial government had embarked upon a program of reform to address these deficiencies. As Catholicism was the state religion, the government exercised a great deal of control over Church affairs, paying clerical salaries, appointing parish priests, nominating bishops, ratifying papal bulls and overseeing seminaries. In pursuing reform, the government selected bishops who satisfied its criteria for education, support for reform and moral fitness. However, as more capable men began to fill the clerical ranks, resentment of government control over the Church increased.
The bishops of Olinda and Belém (in the provinces of Pernambuco and Pará, respectively) were two of the new generation of educated, zealous Brazilian clerics. They had been influenced by the Ultramontanism which spread among Catholics in this period. In 1872 they ordered Freemasons expelled from lay brotherhoods. While European Masonry often tended towards atheism and anti-clericalism, things were much different in Brazil where membership in Masonic orders was common—although Pedro II himself was not a Freemason. The government headed by the Viscount of Rio Branco tried on two separate occasions to persuade the bishops to repeal, but they refused. This led to their trial and conviction by the Superior Court of Justice. In 1874 they were sentenced four years at hard labor, although the Emperor commuted this to imprisonment only.
Pedro II played a decisive role by unequivocally backing the government's actions. He was a conscientious adherent of Catholicism, which he viewed as advancing important civilizing and civic values. While he avoided anything that could be considered unorthodox, he felt free to think and behave independently. The Emperor accepted new ideas, such as Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, of which he remarked that "the laws that he [Darwin] has discovered glorify the Creator". He was moderate in his religious beliefs, but could not accept disrespect to civil law and government authority. As he told his son-in-law: "[The government] has to ensure that the constitution is obeyed. In these proceedings there is no desire to protect masonry; but rather the goal of upholding the rights of the civilian power." The crisis was resolved in September 1875 after the Emperor grudgingly agreed to grant full amnesty to the bishops and the Holy See annulled the interdicts.
Pedro II of Brazil