Brazilian archbishop who opposed dictatorship is buried

Hundreds of Brazilians packed the Sao Paulo cathedral Friday for the funeral of Evaristo Arns, a much-loved former archbishop who won fame for resisting Brazil's military dictatorship.

The cathedral in the heart of the country's biggest city was full for the elaborate Catholic rites which were also carried live on national television ahead of the body of the Sao Paulo archbishop and cardinal being laid to rest in the cathedral's crypt.

Arns, who died Wednesday at 95 after complications linked to pneumonia, was a priest for 71 years but is revered in Brazil above all as someone who stood up to the two decades-long right-wing dictatorship -- and supported the vulnerable of all stripes.

Heavy media coverage emphasized his continuing weight in a society currently beset by political rancor, corruption scandals, high crime rates and recession.

Among those attending Arns's funeral were leftist former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Clarice Herzog, the widow of Vladimir Herzog, who was a journalist and communist when he was tortured to death under the military regime, G1 news site reported.

Eder Oliveira, a 29-year-old legal assistant, said he had come several times to attend Arns's wake since Wednesday, before joining a group standing outside the cathedral to watch on television screens.

"Don Evaristo was a very important person for Brazil. He was very religious, strengthening our faith and being an example for everyone," Oliveira said.

"He was very important in the period of the dictatorship because he always sided with the poor. Brazil needs people like him," he said.

- Saving lives -

After being ordained in 1945, Arns studied at Sorbonne University in Paris and began a prolific writing career that included authoring 57 books. As he rose through the ecclesiastical ranks, he made his name promoting programs dedicated to helping the poor.

However, it was for his stand against torture during the 1964-1985 military dictatorship that he became most famous.

He denounced the torture of a priest in January 1971 shortly after becoming archbishop of Sao Paulo, and used church media outlets to pressure the government over its repressive policies.

Argentine human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel said he "was saved twice" by Arns from the Brazilian regime.

President Michel Temer paid homage to Arns on Wednesday, saying Brazil had "lost a defender of democracy." However Temer did not attend the funeral, amid Brazilian media reports that he feared being booed, as he has been at numerous other public events since becoming president this year.

Monica Fideles, coordinator of the church activist group Pastoral Operaria, said the late cardinal "was always on the side of the workers and the poor."

"He was attentive, caring, sensitive to the pain and suffering of the people."