“When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.”
–Dom Hélder Câmara, Archbishop of Olinda and Recife
Quote Number: 1025
Source: Dear, John. Peace Behind Bars : A Peacemaking Priest’s Journal from Jail. Sheed & Ward: Franklin, Wisconsin. 1999. Pg 65.
Source Notes: I did not translate this quote, however the quote translates accurately in Google Translate.
1000 Quotes Project 
“Quando dou comida aos pobres chamam-me de santo. Quando pergunto por que eles são pobres chamam-me de comunista.”
Since I speak Spanish, I know that “comida” is food – so my guess a better translation would be:
“When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist.” But one of the listed variant translations is the one you put up. Grammar gets tricky from one language to the next – it’s the sentiment that’s important.
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