Different institutions of the Santo Daime doctrine, both in Brazil and in the United States, have taken action after the circulation of letters and manifestos regarding the lawsuit filed by Jéssica Nascimento de Sousa against Paulo Roberto Silva e Souza, the Padrinho Paulo Roberto, founder and head of the Santo Daime Céu do Mar church, in São Conrado, in the southern zone of Rio. He was the subject of preventive detention requested by the Rio Public Ministry (MPRJ), accused of sexual rape by fraud and psychological violence against his former personal assistant. However, this is not the first time that the religious man has been the target of complaints from Daimista women. In the United States, during a similar investigation carried out in 2007 and 2008, he was the victim of restrictive measures and suspended from certain doctrinaire activities in the country.
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Concerning Padrinho Paulo Roberto, the US investigation concluded that there was “the appearance of sexual misconduct in a ministerial relationship” and that the imbalance of power “overruled even consensual sexual activities”. GLOBO considered that the sanction was due to the complaint of the American Maria del Castillo. According to her, in a letter obtained by GLOBO, on October 15, 2007, after working in Brazil for the church of Céu do Mar, the religious leader asked to speak to her privately, in his office. On the balcony of the square, says the American, the first abuses took place.
“He held me tightly by my upper body, hugging me and rubbing my back, his face touching the side of my face and my neck,” she wrote in the letter. “He walked away. I became upset and turned my back on him, holding on to the porch railing to try to steady myself. He then started massaging my back and shoulders. This made me extremely uncomfortable and I told him so… He said he was just trying to send me love that I could take with me. He wanted me to learn to love myself,” she continued.
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However, the suspension motivated by the case of Maria del Castillo had a limited effect: the godfather began leading ceremonies again and began receiving donations in the United States.
Immediate and indefinite suspension
Now, after Jéssica’s case came to light, the Centro Ecletico de Fluente Luz Universal Rita Gregório de Melo — América Norte (Ceflurgem-AN) issued a statement, on October 9, 2024, indefinitely suspending Paulo Roberto from all invitations and permissions to visit or conduct works in Cefluurgem-AN churches.
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The decision, according to the entity, was taken to defend the integrity of the community, in accordance with the institution’s code of ethics, emphasizing that “the appearance of impropriety is deeply disturbing and worrying.” The center reaffirmed its commitment to not tolerating sexual misconduct.
In Brazil, the Church of Eclectic Cult of Current Universal Light (Iceflu), patron Sebastião Mota de Melo, also spoke out. He recognized the important role played by Paulo Roberto in the past. But, from an ethical point of view, he considered his possible sexual abuse and harassment behavior unacceptable.
The institution expressed its deep solidarity with victims of abuse and reaffirmed its commitment to listening and supporting anyone who has been confronted with situations of violence or harassment.
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Iceflu said in a statement that it is “strengthening its hospitality channels and improving its work to promote a safe religious environment, firmly combating misconduct.”
The MPRJ complaint against Padrinho Paulo Roberto claims that between April 2022 and July 2023, the cleric took advantage of his position as spiritual leader and the admiration and respect that Jéssica Nascimento de Sousa had for him to practice sexual acts and carnal conjunctions. Prosecutors also point to the existence of other possible victims. One of the witnesses even claims that Paulo Roberto “exercised a sort of fascination over his followers, using his position as religious leader to establish relationships with them.”
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At GLOBO, Jéssica recounts that she was invited, in 2020, to be Paulo Roberto’s personal assistant, when he offered her spiritual services and requested confidentiality. As stated in the filing, he led her to believe that the sexual acts were part of a “spiritual healing process.” The first approach would have taken place in April 2022. Her boss at the time, she says, had offered her a confidential meeting, under the pretext of “bioenergetic therapy” to unblock the trauma resulting from the abuse she had previously suffered.
Jéssica says that the sessions evolved towards libidinous acts and, later, towards carnal conjunctions. According to her, on certain occasions the acts occurred under the influence of “narcotic substances”, which, according to the accused, constituted aids to “curative treatment”. She further recounts that whenever she expressed a desire to discontinue the supposed treatment, the religious leader, relying on her emotional fragility, manipulated her, claiming that the practices were crucial for healing or that she was undergoing a “spiritual attack” to distract her from her mission.
Paulo Roberto’s defense subsequently asserts that the victim “maintained a romantic and extramarital relationship” with the religious leader. And he adds that when his wife “discovered the betrayal, he chose to try to salvage the marriage.”
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