Carlos Alberto Libânio Christo (born 1944), better known as Frei Betto is a Brazilian writer, political activist, philosopher, liberation theologian, and former

Dominican friar The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

Life

Frei Betto was born on 25 August 1944 in Belo Horizonte. At the age of 20, when he was a student of journalism, he entered the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of ...

. He was later imprisoned for four years by the military dictatorship which ruled Brazil for smuggling people out of the country. His incarceration was part of an ongoing series of attacks by the government on activist members of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. These events are depicted in the 2006 biographical drama film '' Baptism of Blood'', based on the book of the same name by Frei Betto. Brazilian actor Daniel de Oliveira portrays Frei Betto in the film. In addition to work on eliminating hunger in Brazil, Frei Betto is involved in various aspects of Brazil's politics. He worked for the government of

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist, and former metalworker who is the president-elect of Brazil. A member of the Workers' Party ...

, for whom he was considered a spiritual advisor and mentor. As a liberation theologian, Frei Betto has been involved in various international efforts in order to support an understanding between

Marxism Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialectical ...

and

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. During the 1980s, he visited

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

and held frequent and lengthy interviews with Fidel Castro, the result of such talks being a book, ''Fidel and Religion'', where Castro exposed his views on Christianity, something that raised protest among conservatives but is also said to have improved relations between Castro's government and the Cuban Catholic Church. During Mikhail Gorbachev's Perestroika, Frei Betto was also involved in various efforts aimed at an understanding between leaders of the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, such efforts being described in the form of a

travelogue Travelogue may refer to: Genres * Travel literature, a record of the experiences of an author travelling * Travel documentary A travel documentary is a documentary film, television program, or online series that describes travel in general or ...

published by him in 1993 in Portuguese, ''Lost Paradise'', which the author dedicates to a certain Theophilus ("God's friend"), apparently the same as the mysterious addressee of the

Gospel of Luke The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-vol ...

, which should be understood as a symbol of all Christians.

Honors

Frei Betto was selected by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

as the 2013 recipient of its International José Martí Prize. The reason given by Irina Bokova, its Director General, was "his exceptional contribution to building a universal culture of peace, social justice and human rights in Latin America and the Caribbean". The prize was awarded on 28 January in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, Cuba, at the Third International Conference on World Balance, being held to mark the 160th anniversary of

José Martí José Julián Martí Pérez (; January 28, 1853 – May 19, 1895) was a Cuban nationalist, poet, philosopher, essayist, journalist, translator, professor, and publisher, who is considered a Cuban national hero because of his role in the libera ...

's birth.

References

McGovern, Arthur F. 1989. Liberation Theology and Its Critics: Toward an Assessment. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Betto 1944 births Living people People from Belo Horizonte Brazilian Dominicans Liberation theologians Brazilian Christian socialists 20th-century Brazilian Roman Catholic priests Brazilian spiritual writers Brazilian torture victims 21st-century Brazilian Roman Catholic priests Catholic socialists Christian socialist theologians Catholicism and far-left politics