Brandao Vilela; Brazil Cardinal
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Associated Press
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Cardinal Avelar Brandao Vilela, head of the Roman Catholic Church in Brazil and archbishop of the northeastern city of Salvador, has died of stomach cancer at the age of 74, a hospital spokesman said Saturday.
Brandao Vilela was known as the “great conciliator” in Brazil’s socially active church, where progressives and conservatives clash over the church’s role in society.
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