They alert about false Jesuit priest who asks for money in Mexico City

The Society of Jesus in Mexico warned about a person who, “improperly,” is posing as a Jesuit priest in Mexico City and requests money in the name of the Congregation.

Through a message on their social networks, the Jesuits pointed out that the individual claims to be a member of the parish of the Sagrada Familia, located in the Mayor’s Office Cuauhtémoc, in the capital of the country. Given this situation, they called “the community to act prudence and verify the identity of those who make this type of applications.”

They also clarified that all the priests belonging to the Society of Jesus, including those who exercise their ministry in the parish of the Sagrada Familia, have an official credential that accredits them as such.

Legal and ecclesiastical consequences

According to the Code of Canon Law, who is posing as a priest without being ordered incurs in a serious sanction, which may include excommunication automaticwhich prevents him from receiving the sacraments.

At the legal level, the Law of Religious Associations and Public Worship It establishes in its article 29, section XII, that those who perform religious acts without the recognition of a diocese “can receive a warning or a fine.”

In 2024, the primacy archdiocese of Mexico He warned That, in the country, to go as a priest could “be considered a crime of usurpation of functions, according to the Federal Criminal Code.”

“If the false priest uses his position to deceive or cheat people, he can also be accused of crimes such as fraud. Depending on the severity of the case, the penalties can vary and include fines and time in prison, ”said the publication.