Brazilian bishop celebrates Mass at which a creed refers to a 'God/Goddess'

Bishop José Valdeci Santos Mendes of Brejo, in the Brazilian state of Maranhão, celebrated a Mass on September 7 as part of the annual "Grito de los Excluidos" ("Cry of the Excluded") event. During the Mass, those present recited a creed that comes from the Comunidades Eclesiales de Base (CEBs), the base ecclesial communities. The video was removed from YouTube after the celebration.

The text departs from Church teaching on the nature of God, the structure of the Church and sexuality, according to a report by EWTN News. One section says: "We do not believe in a God who punishes and who inflicts poverty on his people. WE BELIEVE in a God/Goddess who is present in the various experiences of the communities: a God who is close to us, a liberating and revolutionary God, a God who is a member of the CEBs, who works and struggles like Jesus of Nazareth."

Rejection of borders, hierarchy and traditional norms

The creed also says: "We do not believe in borders. WE BELIEVE that we are daughters and sons of a Great Homeland free of racism, free of rules that regulate love, embracing all sexual diversity, women, young people, indigenous peoples, black people, minorities and all those at the base."

The text rejects "a static, patriarchal and clerical Church" and calls for a Church community with "its own voice," without traditional structures of authority.

Call to collective action

The creed ends by calling for collective action against capitalism and says the community should unite in seeking alternatives to the dominant system.

The Mass and the creed have prompted debate about the direction of some currents within the Church in Brazil.