Paulo Evaristo Arns

Brazilian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church

Paulo Evaristo Arns OFM (Brazilian Portuguese: ['pawlu eva'?istu 'a?ns]; 14 September 1921 – 14 December 2016) was a Brazilian prelate of the Catholic Church, who was made a cardinal and the Archbishop of São Paulo by Pope Paul VI, and later became cardinal protopriest.

His ministry began with a twenty-year academic career, but when charged with responsibility for the Sao Paulo Archdiocese he proved a relentless opponent of Brazil's military dictatorship and its use of torture as well as an advocate for the poor and a vocal defender of liberation theology.

In his later years he openly criticized the way Pope John Paul II governed the Catholic Church through the Roman Curia and questioned his teaching on priestly celibacy and other issues.