RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- A Roman Catholic Church official Saturday condemned the 'spreading of nudism' and the 'exhibition of eroticism' at Rio de Janeiro's infamously wild carnival as millions of Brazilians throughout the nation turned major cities into huge dance halls.
Cardinal Eugenio de Araujo Salles of Rio also raised the specter of AIDS in his criticism of the carnival, which came in remarks published Saturday in a column in the newspaper Jornal do Brasil.
'Unhappily the events of these days are identified, in public opinion, with the exhibition of eroticism,' the cardinal wrote in the article. 'The carnival could be a dignified popular celebration, but every year it sinks further with the spreading of nudism.'
'Since the spread of this disease (AIDS) is related to sexual behavior, the exaltation of the lack of modesty provokes an increase in the dissemination of this illness,' he wrote.
Brazil has the fourth highest number of AIDS cases in the world, according to official statistics, after the United States, Tanzania and Uganda.
During carnival, the government expects to distribute more than 1 million condoms, as it has in years past.
The cardinal's criticism came as the celebration kicked into high gear for festivities over the weekend, with millions of Brazilians donning disguises, stripping down to their skimpiest bathing suits, or both. Carnival began Thursday and ends on Ash Wednesday.
Party-makers danced to the rhythm of the samba just about anywhere there was space, moving to the lively step in the streets, in parks and in private homes throughout the cities of Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Salvador, Olinda, Recife, Fortaleza and others.
The nearly 20,000 samba dancers associated with Brazil's top dance schools intensified their practices for the traditional parade that begins Sunday night and ends Tuesday morning. On Wednesday, the best school participating in the parade is chosen.
U.S. actor Robert de Niro and movie director Francis Ford Coppola were among some of the international elite to attend festivities in the so-called Sambodromo, an amphitheater built 17 years ago for the carnival that holds some 80,000 people.
Police have declared a state of alert during the festivities. There are normally several deaths during carnival days associated with the event.
On Friday night, the carnival 'gay queen' for a Rio suburb was shot to death. Joselito Cavalcanti, a transvestite who used the name Luance Ravel, was shot five times shortly after being crowned.
Police were investigating the shooting.
