André Mendonça’s church cites out-of-context edits and removes videos

The Presbyterian Church of Pinheiros removed videos of André Mendonça’s sermon after sensationalist clips turned a talk about family into online political content. The church archived the material from YouTube and Instagram on Wednesday night, saying the excerpts distorted the justice’s words.

Mendonça is one of the church’s 12 reverends. During the Aug. 16 service, he spoke about family. Roberto Quirino, a presbyter responsible for the church’s communications, said the most troubling edits were “absolutely out of context.” He stressed that Mendonça was preaching as a pastor, not speaking in connection with his work on Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court.

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Absolutely out of context.

Some clips used headlines promising “a shocking message to Brazil” or saying that Mendonça had made a revelation that would leave viewers stunned. One video presented his remarks about carrying two responsibilities: his public position and, more importantly, his role as a minister of the Gospel. He also said that everyone is subject to errors and that his mistakes as a minister could reflect on the church.

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He is a pastor of the church. There is no connection between what he preaches and his work as a Supreme Court justice.

Another excerpt showed Mendonça saying, “If I am going to set a bad example, may God take me first.” He also recalled answering that he feared neither death nor a position to which God had prepared him when asked whether he was afraid to enter the Supreme Court.

YouTube removed most of the videos at the church’s request. Quirino said the clips had downloaded material without permission, altered it, removed it from its context and used it to drive engagement. Editors also replaced the church background with a neutral one, the church said, to connect the sermon to the Supreme Court. The church temporarily restricted access to its own material as its defense.

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If I am going to set a bad example, may God take me first.

The episode also raised an institutional concern. The Presbyterian Church of Brazil formally bars openly political speech from the pulpit, and Quirino said Mendonça’s sermons were biblical for that reason. Mendonça later posted a video thanking “brothers and sisters” who had sent messages of prayer and affection. The political attention followed his decision to lift secrecy from Federal Police reports involving messages between Justice Alexandre de Moraes and former banker Daniel Vorcaro.

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I am not afraid of death, much less of a position for which God prepares me.