Minister André Mendonça has sermons removed from IPP's YouTube and Instagram after video distortions

On August 16, the minister of the STF (Supreme Federal Court) André Mendonça preached at the IPP (Pinheiros Presbyterian Church). He's one of 12 reverends there, and on that particular Sunday he gave a sermon about family.

The content would normally be available on the church's YouTube. It is not. No more. The IPP chose to archive the material it had aired with Mendonça's speeches. He did the same on Instagram.

The cleaning, according to the church, was carried out on Wednesday (2) night, after an increase in what it classifies as distortions of the minister's words. What worries most are the “absolutely out of context” cuts made from the official videos, says priest Roberto Quirino, who works in IPP communications. "He is a pastor of the church. There is no relationship between what he preaches and his work as a minister of the STF."

The minister released this Friday (4) a video thanking "brothers and sisters" who sent him messages of "prayer and affection".

Mendonça is in the eye of the political storm after declassifying Federal Police reports involving messages between court colleague Alexandre de Moraes and former banker Daniel Vorcaro.

Many of these cuts follow the sensationalist line and are not necessarily attacks on the minister. You could even say that they exalt him. One of them, for example, promises to reveal "a shocking message to Brazil". It's the famous clickbait, a strategy that uses exaggerated or misleading titles or images to attract views on the internet.

When you click on the link, what you get is Mendonça saying that "two things weigh on me, one of them is the position I occupy today in the public sphere, and the second and most important is my position as a minister of the Gospel." He then says that "everyone is subject to errors and mistakes" and that his stumbles as a minister have repercussions on the entire church. "If I'm going to give a bad testimony, may God take me first."

He also says that, when asked if he would be afraid of joining the STF, he replied: "I'm not even afraid of death, let alone a position [for which] God prepares me."

Most of the videos have already been taken down by YouTube at the request of the IPP. They are all from the same genre, with titles like "Mendonça breaks the silence in worship and makes a chilling revelation" and "surprises Brazil with a statement that no one expected". The tactic of this and other cuts was to remove the church fund, replacing it with a neutral fund, to "take content from the church and associate it with the STF".

"The church was being victimized by people who download material from our channel without authorization, adulterate the content, take it out of context and publish it clearly in search of engagement", says priest Quirino. "Our only possible defense was to temporarily deprive."

There would even be an institutional problem, since the IPB (Brazilian Presbyterian Church), at least in theory, vetoes overtly political speech within the temple. "The IPB doesn't really mix politics with the pulpit. That's why Reverend André's preachings are biblical", says Quirino.

He says the archiving of IPP materials on YouTube is unlikely to last long. "As soon as possible, I believe next week perhaps, we will make it available again and monitor whether it will still be used inappropriately. For those who want to use it in full with due credits, the best way is to ask for prior authorization."

In the mix of content on the church's radar there are videos that are only critical of Mendonça and make no use of posts made by IPP. One of the links sent to the report was shared by deputy Henrique Vieira (PSOL-RJ), a pastor as well as the minister, and questions a meeting he had with Vorcaro.

Mendonça himself plays videos of himself that are no longer on his church's virtual TV. On the eve of removing the confidentiality of the PF report that quotes Moraes, he posted one of his sermons on Instagram. The cut is brief and says that “it is time for revival in the church”.

"There are times when a generation is called upon to pave the way for the next. I believe this is one of those times," he says in the caption. "It is time for revival in the Church. It is time for us to assume the responsibility entrusted to us and prepare firm foundations for those who will come after us."

He again activated the Christian voltage in a meeting with religious leaders on Thursday (3), at the TSE (Superior Electoral Court). He asked God to bless those who represent the Judiciary and "the Justice system as a whole", so that they can "honor the trust that the main thing, which is the people, the citizen, places".

Mendonça has received endorsements from leaders of his faith, resurrecting the figure of the "terribly evangelical" that marked his nomination by Jair Bolsonaro to the Supreme Court.

Starting with Arival Dias Casimiro, senior pastor at IPP, who shared a photo of the two on Facebook. There he wrote: "We are together in the fear of the Lord, in the love of justice and in the practice of mercy. The sun rises for everyone, but the shadow and hiding place of the Most High are for those who trust in the Lord. May God have mercy on Brazil and may justice prevail."

Apostle Estevam Hernandes, who leads the Renascer em Cristo church and the March for Jesus, called for a prayer chain "for our brother", calling him "my friend" and "a man I respect for his faith, character and integrity".

"I believe he speaks his deep spiritual convictions," Hernandes tells Folha. "He has a relationship with God, he is an anointed pastor. So evoking God is part of his essence. It is not being evangelical that makes the difference, but rather his testimony of life and faith."

Pastor Silas Malafaia also came out in defense of Mendonça, who had acted ethically and by suspending the confidentiality of police reports involving Daniel Vorcaro and forwarding the material to Minister Edson Fachin.