In Chapter Seven of my book The Church Impotent: The Feminization of Christianity (available on line at another part of this web site) I examine the strong streak of erotic mysticism in Catholicism, a streak that turns to turn men off.
Kath.net has a brief article on Marcelo Rossi, a Brazilian priest who is a hit pop singer whose newest album just sold 1.3 million copies.
Here is a Rossi video Sonda me, Look at me.
Notice:
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The music is romantic love music
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99% of the laity shown are women
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The erotic atmosphere is unmistakable.
This is not to accuse Rossi of any misbehavior – he is simply using a strong and popular tradition in Catholic popular religion, but one that has unfortunate consequences in alienating men from the Church.
Our Brazilian housekeeper came in while I was playing the video and expressed her undying devotion to Rossi. Her English is limited, and my Portuguese non-existent, but she was trying to express part of Rossi’s message about the body. I got the drift.
The impression is correct. Following Padre Marcelo Rossi, is coming about 4 or 5 singer priests, one of them clearly and totally appealing to erotic message – Padre Fabio de Mello. The message is clear: women are welcome, men not.