José Ivo Lorscheiter (7 December 1927 – 5 March 2007) was a Brazilian prelate of the Catholic Church.

He was a leading proponent of liberation theology and denounced abuses of human rights by the military regime that controlled Brazil in the anos de chumbo from 1964 to 1985.

He received his episcopal consecration on 6 March from Archbishop Alfredo Scherer, with his cousin Bishop Aloísio Lorscheider as one of the co-consecrators.

The 1971 election marked a turning point, establishing the Conference as a leading voice in opposition to the military regime.

[5] At a Vatican synod of bishops in November-December 1985, he presented a detailed rebuttal of a September 1984 critique of liberation theology by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

In April 1986, the pope wrote the bishops of Brazil a letter describing liberation theology as "not only opportune but useful and necessary".