The Vatican is reportedly moving forward with the cause for beatification of the late Archbishop Helder Camara of Olinda and Recife, Brazil, an outspoken advocate of liberation theology and socialism.

Archbishop Fernando Saburido, who now heads the archdiocese that Archbishop Camara led, reported on the progress of the cause at closing ceremonies for Brazil’s National Eucharistic Congress.

Archbishop Camara’s devotion to the poor earned him the informal title, “the Bishop of the Slums.” But his critics, noting his embrace of socialism, called him “the Red Bishop.” His tenure as archbishop, from 1964 to 1985, was marked by conflict with Brazil’s military leadership.