João Braz de Aviz (Brazilian Portuguese: [ʒuˈɐ̃w ˈbɾaz dʒi aˈvis]; born 24 April 1947) is a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church.

[1] On 6 April 1994, he was appointed to the titular bishop of Flenucleta as auxiliary of the Archdiocese of Vitória and received episcopal consecration on 31 May of that year.

He was appointed bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ponta Grossa on 12 August 1998 by Pope John Paul II.

[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 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."

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.

[5] Pope Benedict made him a cardinal on 18 February 2012,[6] with the rank of Cardinal-Deacon assigned to Sant'Elena fuori Porta Prenestina.