Dom Helder Câmara (1909-1999)

Dom Helder, the archbishop of the poor of his northeast Brazil diocese and of the world, died ten years ago today.

Small in stature, he was full of the energy of the Gospel incarnated among the poor. Advocate of liberation, he was a voice for active nonviolence – firmeza permanente, relentless persistence, in Portuguese. Wise, he loved the poor and simple of this world. A man of prayer, he did not fail to act. For this he was persecuted by the Brazilian dictatorship who were so afraid of him that they would not allow his name to be mentioned in the media in Brazil.

Here are a few quotes from an anthology of his writings, Dom Helder Camara: Essential Writings, published by Orbis Books.

…if you are not on the side of the oppressed you are on the side of the oppressors.” (p. 45)

Without a deep personal conversion, no one can become an instrument for the conversion of the world. (p. 65)

If you disagree with me,
you have something to give me,
if you are sincere
and seek the truth
as best you may,
honestly, with modest care,
your thought is growth
to mine, correction,
you deepen my vision. (pp. 99-100)

I know a priest who likes to shake hands with the trash collectors when they are loading the refuse onto the truck. They try to clean their hands on their clothes. The priest, tightly, says: “No work stains human hands. What makes hands dirty is stealing, or greed, or the blood of our neighbors!” (p. 143)

Today Christ tells us that it isn’t enough to distribute bread to those who haven’t got any. The essential thing is to work towards the creation of a more just world, in which there will no longer be a minority owning too much, among such multitudes of hungry people. (p. 159)

Dom Helder also noted, “When I gave food to the poor they called me a saint. When I asked why they were poor, they called me a communist.”

Dom Helder, intercede for us now at the Fountain of Grace, that God may give us the courage and persistence to struggle for justice and peace for all God’s people – especially those most in need.