He often met with opposition: loved by some, hated by others; some became his followers, others persecuted him. It had to be like that because the Master had said: "They persecuted me, they will also persecute you".
He was born in 1909, in the midst of Carnival. This is the most popular of Brazilian celebrations, for it is there that the people sing and dance. I am certain that when he entered heaven, in the month of August last year, it was also with this same sense of carnival festivity. In popular literature this event is described as follows: He was received by his friends, by the angels and by the saints, and among them were Francis, the poor man of Assisi, Martin Luther King, Ghandi, Antonio Henrique Pereira, Guevara, Lamartine Soares (bishop) and a whole array of heros and martyrs who had fought for liberty, victims of dictatorships, and all the oppressed people who had suffered violence and were now resurrected to a new life. It was certainly a great party.
Here in Recife he opened new ways. Together with others who shared his dream, he founded ITER (The Recife Institute of Theology). A new method for the formation of priests was implemented there, a new style of theology for those who were thirsty for freedom. This was his way of putting into practice the bringing up to date of the Church for the world of today, according to the directions of Vatican II.
There were many of us who prominently carry his ideal and follow in his footsteps. He also laid the trail of a new way of being Church by means of the fundamental ecclesiastical communities, particularly the group called "Meeting of Brothers" whose motto was "The poor evangelize the poor". These groups multiplied all over the Archdiocese, particularly in the poorest regions. He left his mark more for what he had been than for what he did. He became "the voice of those who have no voice", the voice of the persecuted, of those tortured by military dictatorship.
He himself had known persecution. The voice of the poor; of the victims of a social, economic and political system contrary to the designs of God, which denied the dignity of His children by creating a system in which the majority was excluded. He was one of the first to claim aloud that the documents of the Church clearly indicate an option for the poor. But even more important, he made himself poor among the poor.
I know that what I have said is really very little. We could present numerous examples of his action and of his presence throughout the world. I have spoken principally from my own experience and from my contacts with him. I am truly happy to have received my priestly ordination from him!
How much I miss him! So very much! We received a rich inheritance from him: our gratitude will be expressed in our commitment to carry on this ideal.
If it is true that memory is a form of presence, then we must transform it into a commitment to remain faithful to these principles of faith, of courage, of hope and of fidelity to the people of God, a fidelity to this utopian dream of the "year 2000 without poverty". Difficult? Impossible? No! We must believe in it and never lose hope.
"The darker the night, the brighter the dawn". Why not believe that in this "symphony of the Two Worlds" it is possible to reconcile fidelity and memory, memory and commitment? A commitment which will not permit this memory to be extinguished, which is of action by those who believe in one God, the Father of all, so that everyone, without exceptions, may live in full dignity.
Thank you, Lord, for this gift!