"Popstar Priest" in Brazil

[SAMitch89]

I found an article from a few years ago about Father Marcelo Rossi. He’s a priest in Brazil that uses Charismatic elements in his mass to try to win back some of the millions of Brazillians that have left the Church for Pentacostal churches in recent years.

SAO PAULO, Brazil – Pack 15,000 bodies shoulder to shoulder in a vast old warehouse, get them singing as loud as their lungs will allow and feel the temperature rise.

“How many people are sweating?”

As the Rev. Marcelo Rossi stands before a shimmering expanse of upraised hands, working up the crowd, a droplet of perspiration cuts a shining rivulet behind his left ear and trickles toward his clerical collar.

“Sweating is good,” he announces. “It gets the bad things out. Now put your hands over your hearts and join me: Let’s get rid of envy, of greed. . . .”

If Rossi sounds more like an exercise instructor than a Roman Catholic priest, it’s probably because he used to be one. That was before Pope John Paul II visited Brazil in 1997 and met with Rossi and other young priests, urging them to find ways to reverse the erosion of Catholicism in a country where evangelical Protestantism is threatening its centuries-old dominance.

[Edited]

More of the article here:
latinamericanstudies.org/religion/decline.htm

I also found some clips from his masses:

youtube.com/watch?v=uHH87EnT43E

youtube.com/watch?v=C-1WO2X6GbE

So what do you guys think?

 

[SAMitch89]

I also read that his new church is currently being built. It seats 25,000 inside and another 75,000 on the outside. That is just massive!

 

[lizaanne]

I guess my concern is, for any religion, if you are there for the entertainment value, what does it serve you spiritually to just go through the motions?



I get what he’s trying to do - but if they still are not properly catechised in the process, then it’s all for nothing, AND they are receiving Jesus without proper understanding of what they are doing, which is a serious issue.

~Liza

 

[SAMitch89]

I guess my concern is, for any religion, if you are there for the entertainment value, what does it serve you spiritually to just go through the motions?



I get what he’s trying to do - but if they still are not properly catechised in the process, then it’s all for nothing, AND they are receiving Jesus without proper understanding of what they are doing, which is a serious issue.

~Liza

I agree, but I think there are lots and lots of Catholics in more traditional churches that are simply going through the motions.

 

[Christiano]

**Brazil’s ‘pop-star priest’ gets mammoth new stage

Bradley Brooks, Associated Press **

7:39PM EDT November 3. 2012 -

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s “pop-star priest” is already packing in the crowds at the newly opened mammoth sanctuary that he built for his campaign to stem the exodus of faithful from the Roman Catholic Church in Latin America’s biggest nation.

Brazil still has more Catholics than any other country in the world, with about 65 percent of its 192 million people identifying themselves that way in the 2010 census. But that is down from 74 percent in 2000 and is the lowest since records began tracking religion 140 years ago.

That’s where Father Marcelo Rossi’s Mother of God sanctuary comes in. The not-yet-finished structure will seat 6,000 people and have standing room for 14,000 more, church leaders say. In addition, the grounds outside can hold 80,000 people who could watch Mass on outdoor video screens.

Read more: usatoday.com/story/news/world/2012/11/03/brazils-pop-star-priest/1679623/

 

[The_Idiot]

Hmmm - has anyone actually checked what his Diocese thinks ?

 

[Christiano]

His bishop is Dom Frei Fernando Antônio Figueiredo, a Capuchin. He is the celebrant of the Massses at the Mother of God Sanctuary and Father Marcelo Rossi is his co-celebrant. So I think Bishop Figueiredo has no problems with Father Marcelo.