Leo XIV Appoints Long-Term "Enthusiast of Second Adulterous Marriages" as Bishop
Curriculum Vitae
Monsignor Palma was born on August 15, 1961, in Pinhalão, Paraná, Brazil. He studied theology and parapsychology (!) and obtained a licentiate in fundamental theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
He was ordained a priest on February 22, 1992. From 2017 to 2018, he was secretary of the Capuchin Conference of Brazil.
"Ministry Unimaginable in Times Gone By"
In July 2015, the Brazilian newspaper Gazeta do Povo published a portrait of Father Pedro Cesário Palma. The warm article describes him as 'an enthusiast of the second marriage ministry — something unimaginable in times gone by, when priests consoled divorcees in secret'.
Several months before the article was published, and thus before Amoris Laetitia, Father Palma displayed a banner on the façade of his parish church, Nossa Senhora das Mercês. The banner encouraged adulterers to return to the Church, without repentance.
Father Palma began holding regular meetings with adulterers in 2011, with 40 couples attending each meeting. After theological and canonical doubts had been clarified, some couples were encouraged to request the annulment of their first marriage, often successfully. However, this is neither a rule nor a requirement.
Those who attended his meetings were integrated into parish ministries (choirs, catechesis and charity).
A second confirmation: In 2021, the parish bulletin O Capuchinho of Father Palma wrote that he had introduced the programme 'Encontro de Casais em Segunda União' (ECSU) (Meeting for Couples in Second Unions) at the parish (see screenshot below). This retreat-style programme is intended for divorced and remarried couples, offering them a place in parish life without ending their adulterous union.
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