The Biblical Foundations of the Spirituality of Dom Hélder Câmara Robert James Laws, III Introduction When Hélder Câmara became the Archbishop of Recife and Olinda in 1964, he refused to live in the Episcopal Palace, offering its space for social projects and retreats for youth, and choosing instead to live in a simple room in the back of a church in Recife.1 He lived a life of simplicity in solidarity with the poor, wearing only an old worn white cassock. His actions were consistent with his pleadings to his fellow bishops at Vatican II, that they should abandon titles of nobility like 'Your Eminence' and “Excellency', and that they should exchange their bejeweled crosses for bronze or wooden ones. He wrote to his brother bishops at Vatican II: "Let us end once and for all the impression of a bishop-prince, residing in a palace, isolated from his clergy whom he treats distantly and coldly."2 Dom Hélder Câmara was a radical defender of the poor, calling the Church to follow the example of Christ, “who although he belonged to all people, identified himself with the poor, the oppressed, and all who suffered.”3 He was a leader in teaching the entire Church to accept its vocation of servant-hood and self giving to the poor, and to embrace a humility that could recognize God in all people, not only Roman Catholics.4 He was not content to proclaim a call to justice in the Church: he also called upon the State to enact just laws and to ensure equity for the poor. Because of his prominence, and his vocal opposition and criticism of the exploitation of the poor in both his own Brazil and in Capitalist and Communist societies, he was seen as a threat to the government. He was not killed by the Military Dictatorship which ruled Brazil because of his popularity among the masses, but he was silenced by the government and forbidden to speak in Brazil outside of his See. As a result, he took his message to the world,
1 Mary Hall, The Spirituality of Dom Hélder Câmara: The Impossible Dream (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1980), 15. 2 Francesco Neves, “The Red Bishop Goes to Heaven,” Brazzil.com, http://www.brazzil.com/p08aug99.htm (accessed February 20 ,2012). 3 Hélder Camera, The Conversions of a Bishop: An Interview with Jose de Broucker, trans. Hilary Davies (London: Collins, 1979), 198. 4 Jose de Broucker, Dom Hélder Câmara: The Violence of a Peacemaker (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1970), 5.