Dom Hélder Pessoa Câmara (February 7, 1909, Fortaleza, Ceará, North East Brazil – August 27, 1999 Recife) was Roman Catholic Archbishop of Olinda and Recife.

He was known as the 'Bishop of Corum' and took a clear position with the urban poor.

In 1959 he founded Banco da Providência in Rio de Janeiro, a philanthropic organization that still exists fighting poverty and social injustices.

He is famous for stating, "When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist."

Camara's short tract, Spiral of Violence (1971), was written at the time of the Vietnam War. It is distinctive not just for the manner in which it links structural injustice (Level 1 violence) with escalating rebellion (Level 2 violence) and repressive reaction (Level 3 violence), but also for the way in which Camara calls upon the youth of the world to take steps for breaking the spiral to which their elders are often addicted. This book has been out of print for about 20 years (in the UK), but a scanned version is now available on the web at the link given below.