Hope For Airborne Priest's Survival Fading

Brazilian Rescuers Continue Search For Cleric Lost After Balloon Ascent

(AP)  Hopes dimmed on Wednesday for a priest who vanished after sailing into the air under hundreds of colorful balloons. The cleric's former flight teacher called his disappearance a "tragedy foretold."

Paragliding instructor Marcio Andre Lichtnow, who gave courses to the Rev. Adelir Antonio de Carli three years ago, described him as a "headstrong, anxious individual who was always in a rush."

"After two or three months, I asked him to abandon the course because of these personality traits, which are not the ideal profile for a paraglider," Lichtnow told The Associated Press by telephone. "So what happened comes as no big surprise."

The 41-year-old Roman Catholic priest has been missing since Sunday, when he lifted off from the port city of Paranagua wearing a helmet, an aluminum thermal flight suit, waterproof coveralls and a parachute.

But less than an hour in, de Carli told his support crew by satellite phone that he would not be able to complete the planned flight to the city of Dourados, 465 miles away, according to team member Jose Carlos Bom.

"He told us he was beginning to descend over the ocean, but never said he was about to crash into the water," Bom said. "There was never any panic in his voice."

For the next eight hours, until his phone went dead, de Carli maintained contact with the team, using a GPS device to report his position as he descended.

Searchers went to look for him almost immediately, "but unfortunately we still have no idea where he is." Bom said.

Rescuers in boats, planes and helicopters continued to search Wednesday off Brazil's southern coast, near where a cluster of yellow, orange, pink and white balloons was found floating in the Atlantic. Others hunted through coastal forests for signs of de Carli.

"It is getting harder to hold on to our optimism," said Penha Fire Department commander Johnny Coelho, though the priest had a buoyant chair and enough food and water to stay alive for five days.

The priest (seen at left, just prior to his ascent) hoped his flight would help raise money for a center where truck drivers could stop "to rest and receive the gospel," said Denise Gallas, treasurer at his Sao Cristovao parish.

Lichtnow said de Carli phoned him days before liftoff.

"I told him that the winds would carry him all the way to South Africa," Lichtnow said. "He said he had studied everything very carefully and that he would go ahead. I honestly thought he was joking."

[honestabe8]

Wonder if there was a fish "savior" that miraculously feed hundreds of fish with one priest.



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Posted by rushlimpdrug at 11:31 AM : Apr 24, 2008

Rush: Thanks for the laugh.

[fibonacci_]

mediapreachr, you are a perfect example of why I am ebarrassed about my own country. You have a pathetic little religious brain with handicapped capacity for rational thought. Religion is very similar to HIV. You will pass it on to your children and they will end up just as convinced as you because average minds have no chance against that kind of indoctrination. What a moron you are, you microcephalous religious imbecile. Little media preacher.

[rushlimpdrug]

Oh how quickly we loose faith.

I think he is coming back.

He''ll be back with bigger and brighter balloons.

And he will build the biggest God damm truck stop ever.

And then everyone will be in awe.

Be ready.

He is coming.

[displeased]

In 2007, Danish newspapers reported that a study conducted by controversial intelligence researcher Helmuth Nyborg estimated that atheists'''' IQs were on average nearly 6 points higher than believers''''. " I''''m not saying that believing in God makes you dumber. My hypothesis is that people with a low intelligence are more easily drawn toward religions, which give answers that are certain, while people with a high intelligence are more skeptical," says the former professor.

[fibonacci_]

Excuse me I was not exactly correct:

[Paul Bell in Mensa Magazine, 2002, reviewed all studies taken of religion and IQ. He concluded:]

"Of 43 studies carried out since 1927 on the relationship between religious belief and one''s intelligence and/or educational level, all but four found an inverse connection. That is, the higher one''s intelligence or education level, the less one is likely to be religious or hold "beliefs" of any kind."%u201D

Chew on that little religious brains. You are all idiots. Do not be ruled by your emotions. Some Mormon missionaries came up to me here in Germany yesterday for a chat - I owned them.

[displeased]

In 2006, a self-published study was undertaken to investigate, on a country-by-country level, the possibility of a link between the importance of religion to citizens and their average IQ. The study found that the strength of religious belief in countries was inversely related to their average IQ. The countries with higher IQs on average had significantly lower levels of religious belief than those with lower average IQs.

[fibonacci_]

The Royal Society? Is your little Christian brain on meth too? Do you have any idea how many atheists belong to the Royal Society? Little tiny Christian brain. Your intellect is 0.

[fibonacci_]

mediapreachr, you want to name a few people from our time? 41 of 43 studies on the relation between intelligence and religiosity in the last 70 or so years suggest an inverse correlation. You are the idiot, dipsh*t. Dumb *ss, little Christian brain. I own you intellectually.

[mediapreachr]

''Religious people just arent that intelligent - there is plenty of scientific evidence to support that....
Posted by fibonacci_ at 10:11 AM : Apr 24, 2008''
Newton,Boyle,Desaguliers including The whole Royal Society,countless others(just check the web)-were all religious people.
Please do some research before posting nonsense-it reflects on you.

[jetlizhan]

i''m very sorry for the priest and his friends and family - but this wasn''t the smartest way to raise money. i can''t imagine how he thought he''d actually live through this (ridiculous and reckless) stunt.