Witness of Christ and Brazilian Repression: Charles Harper’s Report to the World Council of Churches on His Visit to São Paulo in September 1977

This article analyzes a letter by Charles Roy Harper Jr., coordinator of the Human Rights Resources Office for Latin America at the World Council of Churches (WCC), written in 1977 during his visit to São Paulo amid the military dictatorship. In it, Harper tells other members of the council about the role played by the church in resisting the dictatorship, the repression orchestrated by the government against democratic forces, and some events such as the Solidarity Act at the Catedral da Penha and the invasion of the Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo. Observing Harper’s personal networks and enthusiastic view on the church’s stance on resisting authoritarianism during the period, this article examines the importance of the relationship between WCC and the Archdiocese of São Paulo in monitoring the situation of human rights violations in Brazil.