Boff: 'Even in prison, Lula is a free man'

247 - In an interview with journalist Ivan Longo of Revista Fórum, theologian Leonardo Boff emphasizes that Pope Francis' recent statements about coups d'état were aimed at a specific target: Brazil; "The Pope is very interested in Brazil and is following our tragedy. I believe, yes, that Pope Francis was thinking about Brazil. Anyone who understands the language of the Popes has no doubt that he sent a message to the coup plotters," he said.

Boff, who visited former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in prison on the condition of providing religious assistance, emphasizes that Lula "even in prison is a free man. He never resigns himself. He told me clearly: 'I don't want to fall standing. What I want is not to fall. And I will not fall as they wish'," he states.

According to him, Lula "rightly feels victimized by the hatred of this judge [federal judge Sérgio Moro], who was trained in the United States to practice lawfare, that is, to distort the laws and their interpretation in order to convict the accused. No one can imprison his and our dreams."

In the interview, the theologian observes that "we must maintain the hope that can never die." "Hope," he added, "has two beautiful sisters: indignation against the wrong things we see and the courage to overcome them." Today we must maintain indignation against the wrongdoings that the illegitimate and usurper president Michel Temer committed against the people, especially against the poor and the retired, and have the courage to organize ourselves to overcome the situation, re-elect Lula, and continue the peaceful revolution he began, changing Brazil's image in our own eyes and in the eyes of the world.

Read full from the interview.