RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A right-wing Brazilian politician’s push to have the Sao Paulo government investigate a city priest has prompted a strong defense from Roman Catholic leaders and government leaders who praised the clergyman’s work with the homeless.

The Rev. Júlio Lancellotti, 75, ministers to the homeless in one of the roughest neighborhoods of Brazil’s largest city, a crime and drug-ridden area of Sao Paulo commonly known as Crackland.

But Sao Paulo council member Rubinho Nunes alleges the priest also illegally works on behalf of an unnamed non-profit organization to promote Brazil’s leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — an allegation Lancellotti denies.

Nunes needs the votes of a majority of the 55-member council in two votes to launch the probe and gathered the support of 24 of his colleagues as of this week, ahead of their next session in February.

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But the effort has now drawn vocal pushback from the Roman Catholic archdiocese, Lula’s administration and celebrities — and four of those council members had withdrawn their support by Thursday.

The archdiocese said in a statement late Wednesday that it was perplexed that Lancellotti’s behavior was being “put in doubt.” It said his “merciful work for the poorest and most suffering people in our society” must continue.

Lancellotti, who has been an outspoken supporter of Lula, separately defended his work as a “pastoral action” of the archdiocese and said he does not belong to any non-profit organization.

Brazil is scheduled to hold nationwide mayoral elections this year. Allies of Lula and those of former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro are expected to square off in many of the country’s 5,565 cities, with Sao Paulo as the biggest prize.

Lula came out in defense of Lancellotti on Thursday on social media channels, in which the president posted a picture of himself being kissed on the forehead by the priest during a visit last year.

“Thank God we have people like Father Júlio in Sao Paulo. For many, many years he has dedicated his life to giving some dignity, respect and citizenship to people on the streets,” Lula said. “He dedicates his life to following Jesus’ example.”

Many celebrities in Brazil also joined the opposition to the investigation on social media and urged people to donate to Lancellotti’s initiatives. They started the hashtag ” #Padre_Júlio_É_Amor (“Father Júlio is Love,” in Portuguese) on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter.

“I can’t understand what moves a councilman to open an investigation against someone who dedicates his life to help those who need the most,” said chef Paola Carossella, who is also a popular local TV host.

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Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

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