sentences:  During his Church career, he developed his outspoken stance on the appalling poverty that blighted the region.He believed that the Church was obliged to take a firm stand against this poverty and his hard-working and personable character allowed him to develop links with the poor that he observed to be lacking in previous generations of priests.He was a vehement critic of Brazil's military dictatorship and its torture of political opponents and favoured a flexible approach to church structure.