A leading Catholic aid organisation says it is gravely concerned for the safety of a priest working for land rights of the poor in northern Brazil.The UK-based Catholic Agency for Overseas Development says Father Henri des Roziers is under 24-hour police protection because of the threats.
Father Henri told the BBC he wanted to continue with his work in Para state.
US-born nun Dorothy Stang, who campaigned on behalf of poor farmers, was murdered in Para in 2005.
Father Henri, originally from France, has spent more than 30 years working in Brazil with the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT) of the Roman Catholic Church.
The commission, which is a partner organisation of Cafod, aims to support poor workers in rural areas, and this often brings it into conflict with major landowners.
Father Henri was given police protection after reports surfaced that three gunmen had been hired to kill him.
Direct conflict
Cafod says it is taking the threats against Father Henri seriously given the 2005 murder of Sister Dorothy, who was involved in a dispute with ranchers over land they wanted to clear for pasture, and that she wanted to protect.
 Three have so far been convicted over Sister Dorothy's murder |
Father Henri, for his part, says his life has been threatened many times but he is not afraid to continue with his work and does not worry about the threats.
"Honestly no, I don't worry about this. I don't think it is going to happen," he told the BBC.
"I am not young, I am in my late 70s, I am single, religious and I don't have family and in the religious life you are free to dedicate yourself to important causes.''
Father Henri's work as a qualified lawyer has brought him into direct conflict with many powerful groups, and he is not certain who might have ordered his killing.
But the history of violence in the state of Para suggests there is a very real threat.
The CPT says there were 814 killings over land rights in Para between 1971 and 2006, the majority of which have still not been investigated.
It says few cases ended up in court, and only 16 gunmen and six people who paid for killings have been convicted.
A Cafod spokeswoman says Father Henri is taking a huge risk by standing shoulder to shoulder with the poor, and has shown enormous courage.
The authorities in Para say they are doing their best to ensure safety for the Dominican priest, providing him with protection since 2005, with four police officers on every shift. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Sotto Voce