DIPLOMATIC ACTION AGAINST DOM HELDER CAMARA

REVEALED DOCUMENTS FROM BRAZILIAN’S FOREIGN OFFICE

Abstract

This article analyzes the documents revealed by the Dom Helder Camara Truth Commission of Pernambuco, which received them from Brazilian’s foreign office (Itamaraty). Their publication represents an achievement of the right to memory and truth, revealing the diplomatic action against the Brazilian prelate who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times. The methodology applied in this essay was based on content analysis and internal criticism of the documents made available. Among the primary sources are confidential diplomatic correspondence that reports on the intense activity of diplomatic agents and their strategies behind the scenes of the Brazilian state's lobbying against the international recognition that the Nobel Peace Prize would give to Dom Helder Camara and his struggles for justice and peace. This is, therefore, one of the most important discoveries in studies on the relationship between Church and State in Brazil in the field of transitional justice.