RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A right-wing Brazilian politician’s push to have the Sao Paulo government investigate a city priest has prompted a strong defense from Roman Catholic leaders and government leaders who praised the clergyman’s work with the homeless.
The Rev. Julio Lancellotti, 75, cares for the homeless in one of the toughest neighborhoods in Brazil’s largest city, a crime- and drug-ridden area of Sao Paulo known as Crackland.
But Rubinho Nunes, a member of Sao Paulo’s city council, says the priest is also running illegally on behalf of a nonprofit whose goal is to sell out Brazil’s leftist president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, an allegation Lancellotti denies.
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Nunes wants the votes of a two-vote majority of the council’s 55 members to release the investigation and has won the votes of 24 of his colleagues already this week, ahead of his next consultation in February.
But the effort is now drawing strong opposition from the Roman Catholic archdiocese, Lula’s administration and celebrities, and four of the council’s members withdrew their support as of Thursday.
The archdiocese said in a statement Wednesday that it was speechless when Lancellotti’s habit was “called into question. “He said his “merciful works on behalf of the poorest and most suffering people in our society” will have to continue.
Lancellotti, who has been a staunch supporter of Lula, defended his paintings as a “pastoral action” by the archdiocese and said he did not belong to any nonprofit.
Brazil is expected to hold national municipal elections this year. Lula’s allies and those of right-wing former President Jair Bolsonaro are expected to clash in several of the country’s 5,565 cities, with Sao Paulo being the main issue.
Lula defended Lancellotti on social media Thursday, in which the president posted a photo of himself being kissed on the forehead during a stopover by the priest last year.
“Thank God, we have other people like Father Julio in Sao Paulo. For many, many years, he dedicated his life to giving some dignity, respect and citizenship to other people on the street,” Lula said. life to follow the example of Jesus. “
Many celebrities in Brazil also joined the opposition to the investigation on social media and urged people to donate to Lancellotti’s initiatives. They started the hashtag ” #Padre_Julio_E_Amor (“Father Julio is Love,” in Portuguese) on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter.
“I don’t understand why a councillor would open an investigation against someone who dedicates his life to helping those who need it most,” said Chief Paola Carossella, who is also a popular local TV host.
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Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
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