Fr. Rich and I often remark on the soap opera quality that these clerical relationships can take on when couples are forced by Church regulations to lead a double life. Now, from Brazil, we have an actual telenovela clerical romance playing out in "Desejo Proibido" ("Forbidden Desire") on Globo.Padre Miguel (Murilo Rosa) is a priest divided about his vocation and generally not seen in clerical garb in this soap opera. He has been sent by the Church to the town of Passaperto to investigate the alleged miracles attributed to the Virgem de Pedra. He meets a student, Laura (Fernanda Vasconcellos), and falls in love with her. As he tries to get out of his vows, he tells Laura that there is a "problem" but does not reveal his true identity. She assumes that he is married to someone else and so when he proposes to her, she rejects him and says she will marry Henrique. P. Miguel is heartbroken and asks his mentor, P. Inacio, to help him withdraw his request for dispensation. When Laura enters the church on her wedding day to be united with Henrique, there is P. Miguel at the altar ready to celebrate their marriage. Laura realizes that she loves Miguel and cannot marry Henrique and flees from the church. Stay tuned....
And if you read Portuguese and want to know more about the Brazilian Church's (cautious) response to this telenovela, see Padres da igreja católica supervisionam 'Desejo Proibido' in Bem Paraná.
Henrique (left) and Laura (right) on thewedding day that didn't happen
Padre Miguel yearning for LauraNOTE: We shamelessly stole these photos from the soap opera's Web site...
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