Aloísio Leo Arlindo Lorscheider, O.F.M. (8 October 1924 – 23 December 2007) was a Brazilian

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

cardinal during the 1970s and 1980s. He was known as an advocate of

liberation theology Liberation theology is a Christian theological approach emphasizing the liberation of the oppressed. In certain contexts, it engages socio-economic analyses, with "social concern for the poor and political liberation for oppressed peoples". I ...

in the 1970s and was seen by some observers as a serious candidate for the

papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

in the two

conclave A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Co ...

s of 1978.

Early life and ordination

Lorscheider was of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

descent, born in Estrela, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. He entered the local Franciscan minor seminary of Taquari at the age of nine years. He began his novitiate in December 1942 and was ordained as a priest on 22 August 1948.

Professor and bishop

He taught a number of subjects – German, mathematics,

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

– but it was not long before he went to Rome to study dogmatic

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. Lorscheider received his doctorate in 1952, and returned to Brazil to teach that same subject at the Franciscan Seminary of Divinopolis. In 1958 Lorscheider was called back to Rome to teach, and in 1962 made bishop of Santo Ângelo. Lorscheider attended the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

between 1962 and 1965, and he was named Archbishop of Fortaleza in the northeastern state of Ceará in 1973. After the first meeting between Church and Freemasonry which had been held on 11 April 1969 at the convent of the Divine Master in

Ariccia Ariccia (Latin: ''Aricia'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, central Italy, southeast of Rome. It is in the Alban Hills of the Lazio (Latium) region and could be considered an extension of Rome's southeastern suburbs. One ...

, he was the protagonist of a series of public handshakes between high prelates of the Roman Catholic Church and the heads of

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

Cardinal

As Lorscheider grew in popularity with his flock and his ability as a prelate was recognised,

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

gave him a cardinal's hat in May 1976, becoming

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

of S. Pietro in Montorio. Although at the time he was the fourth-youngest cardinal in the college, Lorscheider already doubted his own health. However, some oddsmakers with

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(who had him at

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of 33 to 1) considered him a serious '' papabile'' in the August 1978 conclave. Lorscheider headed the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops from 1971 to 1978. He led the

Latin American Episcopal Conference Based in Bogotá ( Colombia), the Latin American Episcopal Council ( es, Consejo Episcopal Latinoamericano; pt, Conselho Episcopal Latino-Americano), better known as CELAM, is a council of the Roman Catholic bishops of Latin America, created i ...

in 1976. In 1995, Pope John Paul II named Lorscheider Archbishop of

Aparecida Aparecida is a Brazilian municipality in the state of São Paulo. It is located in the fertile valley of the River Paraíba do Sul on the southern (right) bank. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Vale do Paraíba e Litoral Norte. The popula ...

in São Paulo State. He resigned the pastoral government of the Aparecida archdiocese at the beginning of 2004. It is also thought Lorscheider was one of the most vital supporters of Albino Luciani's rise to the papacy, and also of

Karol Wojtyła Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

's in the October 1978 conclave. After the death of John Paul II in 2005, Lorscheider said that the European cardinals' "sense of superiority" would not allow them to elect a non-European pope. In poor health and ineligible to vote because he was over the age of 80, he did not attend the pre-conclave discussions at the 2005 conclave that elected

Joseph Ratzinger Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

to succeed John Paul II.

Liberation theology

He defended Leonardo Boff when that theologian was brought to heel by Joseph Ratzinger in the 1980s, and continued his strong social activism, being jailed briefly in 1993 as a result of participating in a protest against government policy. With the crackdown on dissent in the John Paul II papacy, especially after Cardinal Ratzinger (later

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

) became prefect of the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible ...

in 1981, Lorscheider found himself opposing brother cardinals whom he had been very firmly associated with during the papacy of

. During his Church career, he developed his outspoken stance on the appalling poverty that blighted the region. He believed that the Church was obliged to take a firm stand against this poverty and his hard-working and personable character allowed him to develop links with the poor that he observed to be lacking in previous generations of priests. He was a vehement critic of Brazil's military dictatorship and its

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. definitions of tortur ...

of political opponents and favoured a flexible approach to church structure.

Death

He died on 23 December 2007 in

Porto Alegre, Brazil Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the twelfth most populous city in the country and the center of Brazil's fift ...

after a long hospitalization.

References

External links

Biography
*
Obituary in ''The Times'', January 14, 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lorscheider, Aloisio 1924 births 2007 deaths Brazilian cardinals Participants in the Second Vatican Council Brazilian people of German descent Brazilian Friars Minor Franciscan cardinals People from Rio Grande do Sul Cardinals created by Pope Paul VI 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Brazil Liberation theologians Roman Catholic archbishops of Aparecida Roman Catholic archbishops of Fortaleza Roman Catholic bishops of Santo Ângelo Brazilian expatriates in Italy