As leader, in , of the first British Inter-Parliamentary Union delegation to Brazil for very many years, I asked the Governor of Rio de Janeiro if we could meet a heavyweight of the Roman Catholic Church concerned with human rights. Flanked by extremely able young Jesuits, Lorscheider radiated intellect and seriousness of purpose. Here, obviously, was a commanding cleric, wrestling with the problems of Church, youth and poverty in Brazil, and all South America.
He was educated by Franciscans and ordained a priest in Millions poured into the cities, and the birth rate soared. Lorscheider, like many priests of his generation in South America, came to believe that the Church had to address itself to the real problems of society. At the age of 38 Lorscheider became a bishop in the predominantly German-speaking community of Santo Angelo, in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul. For 11 years, from to , he proved himself not only an able administrator but a serious theologian.
In he became president of the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops, a post he was to hold for two terms. Two years later came the watershed in his life when in Lorscheider was elevated to Archbishop of Fortaleza. Gone was the well-ordered and prosperous flock of Rio Grande do Sul. Instead, Lorscheider found himself in spiritual charge of peasant communities.
He was one of 21 new cardinals appointed that year, as Paul VI continued to internationalise the body. Of the 21, only three were Italian. In , the "foreigners" in the two conclaves that took place that year were decisive in the selection of Vatican outsiders as pope: the Patriarch of Venice, Albino Luciani, who became John Paul I, and, on his death 33 days later, the Archbishop of Krakow, Karol Wojtyla, who became John Paul II.
Lorscheider was crucial in mustering support for both men. Most delicate among Lorscheider's problems throughout his career were the political activities of progressive priests in the developing world. From the s onwards, the Catholic churches in the developing world were increasingly divided between those espousing the new "liberation theology" that stressed the Church's mission among the poor, and the more traditional forces.
