Catholic Church in Costa Rica declares excommunication of 81-year-old priest for schism

The Archbishop of San José (Costa Rica), Mons. José Rafael Quirós Quirós, declared the excommunication automatic decision (automatic) of Father Pablo de Jesús Tamayo Rodríguez, an 81-year-old retired priest, for having incurred the “crime of schism.”

In a statement dated November 20 but made public in recent days, the archbishop indicates that he communicates this decision “with obvious pain” and after having carried out a canonical process in the archdiocese and before the Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith in the Vatican.

The text highlights that the schism consists of not recognizing the authority of the Pope, “a situation in which the priest unfortunately incurred and from which, despite the warnings given and once the administrative criminal process was carried out, where he had the opportunity to recant from his schismatic position and in his free will, he stubbornly maintains his position.”

In that sense, Mons. Quirós indicates that he sees himself “in the obligation to clarify that Mr. Fr. Tamayo Rodríguez is prohibited from any ministerial participation in the celebration of the Holy Mass, he does not have licenses to validly administer the sacrament of reconciliation or witness the canonical marriage, he cannot lawfully celebrate Baptism or the Eucharist or any other ceremony of worship.”

The prelate also warns that the faithful who participate in any celebration presided over by Tamayo “run the risk of also incurring the penalty of excommunication.” automatic decision (immediately without the mediation of ecclesiastical authority).”

The process that led to excommunication

In statements to ACI Prensa on December 17, Father Rafael Sandí López, chancellor of the Archdiocese of San José, stated that “there is no possibility of making known” the specific reasons that led to the declaration of excommunication of Tamayo, because “The processes in the Church are private.”

Although he did not go into the details of the accusations, the priest specified that Tamayo’s excommunication is due to his “not sharing the authority or not respecting the authority of the Pope, who calls him to correct, but rather he has his own ideas regarding celebration of sacraments and so on.”

The chancellor indicated that this has been a long process, and now “people are notified, because they have known Father Tamayo as a priest incorporated into the church and they could make the mistake of continuing to participate in his sacraments, or in the celebrations.” that he could be organizing.”

Faced with this situation, Father Sandí urged “everyone to pray for Father Tamayo for his reconciliation with the Church and to refrain from participating in its activities.”

ACI Prensa tried to obtain a statement from the excommunicated priest, but until the publication of this news it has not received a response.

What is the crime of schism?

According to the canon 751 of the Code of Canon Lawthe law of the Catholic Church, schism exists when a baptized person exercises “rejection of subjection to the Supreme Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him.”

“The apostate of the faith, the heretic or the schismatic incurs excommunication automatic decision“, that is, automatic, as established canon 1364 of the Code of Canon Law, and may also be punished with other penalties, including, in the case of priests, expulsion from the clerical state.