experienced a dramatic episode in 1994, when it was done hostage during a rebellion in a prison in Ceará.
The religious, known for his performance in defense of human rights and for positioning himself in favor of the democratization of Brazil and against the torture practiced in the military dictatorship, was quoted in the film “The Mighty Boss: Part 3”.
Almost 50 years ago, in the 1978 conclave, Dom Aloísio would have been the first to obtain most of the votes to become Pope, but had to refuse his position due to health problems, facilitating the election of John Paul II, who stayed at the post until 2005.
On March 15, 1994, Dom Aloísio Lorscheider, then Archbishop of Fortaleza, was at the Paulo Sarasate Penal Institute (IPPS), located in Aquiraz, in the Metropolitan Region of Fortaleza, which was deactivated in 2013. The visitation of the prison pastoral, guided by the biblical passage “I was arrested and you were visiting” (Mt 25,36), it was common.
However, this specific visit, marked by the cardinal himself to inspect the unit’s conditions, included a group of politicians and journalists, as well as a cardinal, two auxiliary bishops and an episcopal vicar, motivated by allegations of abuse, poor hygiene conditions and lack of medical care. The prisoners, in turn, were dissatisfied with the facilities and overcrowding.
Kept
After traveling the cells, the group went to the auditorium. Shortly after 10am, a strange movement caught the attention of those present. The detainee Carlos de Souza Barbosa, known as Carioca, immobilized Dom Aloísio with a knife around his neck, starting a negotiation between detainees and state security forces.
In total, 13 people were held hostages. A policeman reacted and there was exchange of fire, resulting in the death of two detainees and a wounded soldier. After 13 hours of negotiations, near midnight, the detainees had some requests answered and fled with hostages in a vault.
The route lasted 12 hours on the road. Some hostages were released on the way, but Dom Aloísio made a point of being the last to be released, which occurred after spending 20 hours in the possession of criminals.
Change to São Paulo
After the kidnapping, Dom Aloísio Lorscheider, with heart problems, asked Pope John Paul II his transfer to a minor diocese. It was transferred from Fortaleza to the Archdiocese of Aparecida the year following the kidnapping in August 1995.
He announced his resignation in 2000 and died in December 2007, at the age of 83, in Porto Alegre, a victim of multiple organ failure.
The carioca detainee was released from the state prison system at the end of 2018, after complying with the maximum time of 30 years in jail according to Brazilian criminal law, despite their sentences for robberies, homicides and kidnappings in counties of Ceará, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro total more than 100 years of penalty.
