Paulo Evaristo, pro-democracy Brazilian cardinal, dies
The cardinal became famous for challenging leaders of the brutal military dictatorship of 1964-1985 and for his fight against torture in Latin America.
“Let us praise God for the Franciscan life of Dom Paulo and for his courageous engagement in the defense of human dignity and inalienable rights of each person,” Sao Paulo Archbishop Odilo Scherer said in a statement.
Cardinal Arns will be buried in Sao Paulo’s central cathedral, where in 1975 he organized one of the most open acts of defiance of Brazil’s dictatorship, praying with other religious leaders and blaming the regime for the assassination of journalist Vladimir Herzog, who had been taken as a political prisoner shortly before.
Officials said Herzog had committed suicide in jail, but Cardinal Arns rejected that version during Mass, despite the pressure made by tanks and soldiers outside his church.