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| alma_mater =
| residence =
| occupation = [[Priesthood in the Catholic Church|Priest]]<br>
[[Guerilla]]
| religion = [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]]▼
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| ordained = 1954 (priest)
|laicized=June 1965}}
'''Camilo Torres Restrepo''' (3 February 1929 – 15 February 1966) was a Colombian [[
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]], as well as some intellectuals such as Eduardo Umaña Luna, María Cristina Salazar, [[Virginia Gutiérrez de Pineda]], Carlos Escalante, [[Darío Botero]] and Tomás Ducay, in 1960.<ref>{{cite web |title=A 51 años de la muerte de Camilo Torres: "Insistamos en lo que nos une y prescindamos de lo que nos separa" (51 years after the death of Camilo Torres: "Let us insist on what unites us and do without what separates us") |url=https://desinformemonos.org/51-anos-la-muerte-camilo-torres-insistamos-lo-nos-une-prescindamos-lo-nos-separa/ |publisher=Desinformémonos |access-date=27 June 2022 |location=Colombia |language=Spanish |date=15 February 2017}}</ref>
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His involvement in several student and [[political movement]]s 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 [[Political radicalism|radical]] politics, Camilo Torres was [[political oppression|persecuted]] and went into hiding (leaving his job as an [[academic]]) by joining the guerrillas in Colombia.
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He served as a low-ranking member of the ELN to whom he also provided spiritual assistance and inspiration from a
He is perhaps best known for the quote: "If Jesus were alive today, He would be a guerrillero."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jiménez |first=Fiorella López |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0I3HtwAACAAJ |title="If Jesus Were Alive Today, He Would be a Guerrillero": The Impact of Liberation Theology Movements in Latin American Politics |date=2011 |publisher=Lake Forest College |language=en}}</ref> Camilo Torres, along with [[Gustavo Gutiérrez|Gustavo Gutierrez]], [[Hélder Câmara|Helder Camara]] and [[Des Wilson (Irish Catholic priest)|Des Wilson]], is one of the most important figures in the history of liberation theology. 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, Manhattan|Washington Heights]] community.
{{Christian socialism sidebar}}
== Biography ==
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[[File:Busto de Camilo Torres Restrepo.jpg|thumb|Mural paying homage to Camilo Torres located at the [[National University of Colombia]].]]
=== Catholic
In the guerrilla, Torres was mentored and advised by Jaime Arenas, chosen by Fabio Vásquez, also to keep him away from progressive currents. Shortly before joining the ELN, General [[Gustavo Rojas Pinilla]], leader of the ANAPO, had recommended Torres not to join any guerrilla group, since being a priest he had no experience in handling weapons to confront the army, so he suggested that he continue in political life since he admired his work with the needy classes, something that Torres disregarded considering the advice as a threat. On joining the ELN, under the [[nom de guerre]] of ''Argemiro'', the identity of Torres, who was mistaken for a foreigner, was unknown for the moment within the guerrillas, but his identity was later revealed to the guerrillas.
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{{blockquote|I have left the privileges and duties of the clergy, but I have not ceased to be a priest. I believe that I have given myself up to the Revolution out of love of neighbour. I have stopped saying [[Mass (liturgy)|mass]] to realise this love of neighbour, in the temporal, economic and social fields. When my neighbour has nothing against me, when I have achieved the Revolution, I will offer mass again, if God allows me to do so. I believe that in this way I follow the command of [[Christ]]: "If you bring your offering to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, and go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come and present your offering" ([[Gospel of Saint Matthew|Saint Matthew]] V, 23-24). |Camilo Torres, "Mensaje a los cristianos", ''Frente Unido'', no. 1, 26/08/1965, Bogotá.<ref name=Torres/>}}
In the ELN, Torres participated as a low-ranking member and provided spiritual and ideological assistance from a
=== Death ===
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In January 2016, the President of Colombia, [[Juan Manuel Santos]], instructed the [[Colombian National Army]] to begin the process of searching for and exhuming his remains, in a gesture to accelerate the start of the peace talks with the ELN guerrilla group.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias/2016/02/160212_colombia_camilo_torres_cura_guerrillero_eln_nc|title=Where is the body of Camilo Torres, the Colombian guerrilla priest compared to Che Guevara?|accessdate=2021-02-08|date=2016-02-15|website=BBC News World|language=en}}</ref>
== Recognitions and
=== Tributes at
* The main theater of the [[University of Antioquia]] bears the name of "Comandante Camilo Torres Restrepo" Popular Theater.
* One of the main buildings of the [[Industrial University of Santander]] has the name "Camilo Torres Building", on one of its exterior walls you can see a large mural with his face accompanied by a phrase he wrote.
* At the [[University of Valle]], in the Cali Headquarters, there is a tribute bust
* At [[KU Leuven]] in Belgium, a large residence student hall has the name of "Camilo Torres".
=== Songs ===
[[Uruguay|Uruguayan]] singer-songwriter [[Daniel Viglietti]] wrote "Cruz de Luz" in 1967, a song about Camilo Torres, which was popularized by [[Chilean people|Chilean]] singer-songwriter [[Víctor Jara]]. Also the [[Cubans|Cuban]] singer-songwriter [[Carlos Puebla]] wrote a song about Camilo titled "Camilo Torres".The song "Cura y Guerrillero" by the [[Mexicans|Mexican]] singer-songwriter José de Molina is dedicated to Camilo Torres and other priests who continue to fight for the same ideals.
[[File:Camilo Torres Leyenda.JPG|thumb|Legend in bust of Camilo Torres at the [[University of Valle]], Cali headquarters]]
=== Tributes in Latin America ===
The Camilo Torres Muralist Units, close to the Christian Left party of Chile, worked during the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, making murals against the regime, distinguished by their cheerful designs, less abstract than those used by the Ramona Parra Brigade of the Chilean Communist Party.<ref>{{Cite web |title=..UNIDADES MURALISTAS CAMILO TORRES.. |url=http://violetalibertaria.blogspot.com/2008/08/unidades-muralistas-camilo-torres.html |access-date=2023-09-16 |archive-date=2012-06-29 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120629144217/violetalibertaria.blogspot.com/2008/08/unidades-muralistas-camilo-torres.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
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==See also==
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