Camilo Torres Restrepo

Camilo Torres Restrepo (3 February 1929, in Bogotá, Colombia – 15 February 1966, in San Vicente de Chucurí, Santander) was a Colombian socialist, Roman Catholic priest, a proponent of liberation theology, and a member of the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla organization. During his life, he tried to reconcile revolutionary Marxism and Catholicism. His "social activism and willingness to work with Marxists troubled some.[1]

Camilo Torres (center, looking sideways) marching with students
For the early leader of Colombian Independence, see Camilo Torres Tenorio.
The Reverend Father

Camilo Torres Restrepo
Camilo Torres
Born
Camilo Torres Restrepo

(1929-02-03)3 February 1929
Bogotá, Colombia
Died15 February 1966(1966-02-15) (aged 37)
San Vicente de Chucurí, Santander, Colombia
NationalityColombian
OccupationPriest
Parent(s)Calixto Torres Umaña
Isabel Restrepo Gaviria
ReligionRoman Catholic
ChurchCatholic Church
Ordained1954 (priest)

As part of the academic staff of the National University of Colombia, he was a co-founder of the Sociology Faculty together with Orlando Fals Borda in 1960. His involvement in several student and political movements during the time won him a large following as well as many detractors, especially from the Colombian government and the church itself. Due to the growing pressure to back down from his radical politics, Camilo Torres was persecuted and went into hiding (leaving his job as an academic) by joining the guerrillas in Colombia. He served as a low-ranking member of the ELN to whom he also provided spiritual assistance and inspiration from a Christian communist point of view. He was killed in his first combat engagement when the ELN ambushed a Colombian Military patrol.[2][3] After his death, Camilo Torres was made an official martyr of the ELN.

He is perhaps best known for the quote: "If Jesus were alive today, He would be a guerrillero." He was a life-long friend of fellow socialist Luis Villar Borda and Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez.

In the Dominican Republic in 1970, a revolutionary group that included Catholic clergy members and university students was founded under the name CORECATO, which stood for Comando Revolucionario Camilo Torres (Revolutionary Command Camilo Torres). In New York City, San Romero of the Americas Church-UCC has founded the Camilo Torres Project in 2009. This project works for social justice and peace for the people of the Washington Heights community.

Camilo Torres with Colombian peasants

See also

References
  1. Bushnell, David. "Camilo Torres Restrepo". Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture, v. 5, 258-59
  2. Bushnell, "Camilo Torres Restrepo", 259.
  3. SDS Regional Newsletter, Mar. 8, 1966, Vol. 1, no. 8 Winter 1966 MFU Catalog

Further reading
  • Broderick, Walter J. Camilo Torres: A Biography of the Priest-Guerrillero 1975.
  • Guzmán, Germán. Camilo Torres. translated by John D. Ring. 1969.
  • Levine, Daniel H. "Camilo Torres: fe, política y violencia." Sociedad y Religión: Sociología, Antropología e Historia de la Religión en el Cono Sur 21.34-35 (2011): 59-91.
  • Martínez Morales, Darío. "Camilo Torres Restrepo: cristianismo e violência." Theologica Xaveriana 61.171 (2011): 131-167.
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