Concerning Father M...

Dear Miss Andrea Galli,

Please get your facts straight in regards to Father M.... The principle reason that Father M... got himself involved in the Brazilian Charismatic renewal was in order to make money. He came from a poor family in the North Zone of Sao Paulo and became a priest in the rich section of the town. He got himself involved in radio and TV programs and the bucks started to roll in. He bought his family a very expensive car and ranch house in a secluded area of the town.

The money he made was kept exclusively for him and his bishop and did not share it with the poorer parishes of the diocese. He began well as a preacher and started to attack homosexuality. When the gays threatened his life, he retracted and never again gave a substantial homily to the people. He left that for his bishop to do. He just limited himself to singing and dancing before the altar.

In order to attract people to his show Masses, he would also invite movie stars and famous national singers to guarantee the presence of the faithful. The millions of people that came to his Mass came more to see these stars sing rather than to participate in the Holy Sacrifice.

Ivete Sangalo is one of the filthiest stage dancers in the country and has led many youth away from the morals of the Church. It is scandalous that Father M...invited her to the Mass. Father M... has hardly any songs that have any real content or catechetical value to them. They are all simple child rhymes that I  myself had sung with little children. It is the powerful media that was able to get them sold. People in Brazil only read two books a year and nearly 30% of the population is illiterate. The only reason they bought Father M... book “...” was for status purpose only, to simply say they had a relic of him. 90% of the people that bought his book did not even read it. Father M... does not write books, but puts his name to them. He skipped most of his theology classes as a student and practically knows nothing of the Faith.

Like I said, Father M... never gave homilies, he did not know how. He simply parroted repeated prayers on TV like some kind of a mechanical dunce. Father M... did not start the charismatic movement, but simply robbed the members from it for him. He always made it a point to organize his events simultaneously in parallel stadiums on the same days as the Traditional groups did, in order to take away their followers. He was too lazy to form his own groups. He preaches strange devotions that he invents in his narcissistic spirit instead of promoting the traditional Catholic devotions.

Father M... movie on “....” shows Father M... in each scene of the film rather than Mary herself. He considers himself more important than the Mother of God and the woman he chose to be Mary is an actress of scandalous moral background. The movie was a flop. Father M... does not proclaim the Gospel, but his own ego and is simply a religious entertainer. He manipulates the media to enrich himself and promote his weird building projects. He does not reawaken love for the church, but for famous artists. He despises and ignores his fellow priests and lives in his self-created image and world. Many dioceses refuse his presence since he promotes a personal cult and not the authentic mission of the Church. He has people abandon their personal parishes in order to sing and dance at Father M... multi-million dollar entertainment sanctuary.

The kinds of people that Father M... attracts are all poor migrants coming from the other parts of the nation, illiterate and with no spiritual or religious formation. True mature and solid Catholics do not participate in his religious shenanigans. Father M... spirituality is at the most, childish and superficial, with no real seriousness to it. His religion is merely a copout before society like a dancing dog that makes his enemies laugh at him since he presents no serious challenges or threats to them.

Father M..., in order to rake in some huge money, made himself a puppet to the powerful Rede Globo, the most corrupt, dishonest, immoral, indecent, impure, maculate, cesspool TV station of the nation. He has gone hand in hand with some of the worst figures of Brazilian TV. Instead of courageously denouncing them as did Saint John the Baptist for their crimes and wicked lives, he scandalously blesses them in his puny cowardice and hypocrisy.

The other singer priests like Father Fabio de Melo, Father Joazinho, Father Juarez and Father Reginaldo Manzotti did not get their inspiration from Father M.... They have absolutely nothing to do with him. They were inspired rather by the very solid, mature, balanced, talented and holy priest called Father Zezinho. He is the true image of Christ, not Father M.... He is an excellent and gifted writer and preacher with content and deep spirituality who does not have someone else write his books. His original song compositions are in the hearth of every Catholic in Brazil. He courageously speaks out against injustice, abortion and hate and boldly defends the family, something which Father M... has no courage to do. I know all this because I am a missionary priest who has lived in Brazil and Sao Paulo for the past 30 years and have witnessed all these developments.

Father Anthony Mellace