Excommunication of a priest: Church reacts to Schisma!

The Archbishop of San José, Mons. José Rafael Quirós Quirós, explained the automatic excommunication (Lata Sententiae) of the 81-year-old retired priest Pablo de Jesús Tamayo Rodríguez. As a result of Tamayo's refusal, this decision was given to recognize the authority of the Pope, which is considered the "Delito de Cisma" (Schisma). In a recently published communiqué, dated November 20, Mons said. Quirós that the decision was made with "evident pain" after a canonical process in the archdiocese and the dicasterium was carried out for faith in the Vatican.

Tamayo previously had the opportunity to revise his cismatic position, but decided against it. Mons. Quirós emphasized that Tamayo can now no longer have a ministerial participation in the celebration of the Holy Mass, the administration of the sacrament of reconciliation, canonical weddings and at the celebration of baptism and Eucharist. Believers who participate in celebrations under his leadership also risk automatic excommunication.

Details on excommunication

The Chancellor of the Archdiocese, P. Rafael Sandí López, said on December 17 that the specific reasons for excommunication cannot be publicly made out of consideration for the private character of the church processes. Sandí López made it clear that the excommunication of Tamayo is due to his disregard for the authority of the Pope.

On December 24th, Tamayo published a communiqué in which he points out that he had not received an answer to his questions and that he had the right to call, since the process has not yet been completed. Although Tamayo accepts the Pope's authority as long as he was legitimately chosen, he does not recognize Pope Francis as a Sumo Pontifex. In a video of December 21, Tamayo also expressed concerns about the alleged influence of Freemasonry on the church. According to the canon law, there is a schism if a baptized person rejects the subordination among the Pope or the community with the members of the Church. Schismatists are subject to automatic excommunication in accordance with canon law.

In a similar case, the dicasterie for the teaching of faith reported on July 5, 2024 about the excommunication of Carlo Maria Viganò, the former nuncio of the Pope in the USA, also because of the crime of the Schism. Viganò was guilty of reserved crime because his public explanations showed a refusal to recognize the Pope and the authority of the second Vatican. This happened after a meeting of the Dicaster on July 4, 2024, in which the extrajudicial criminal trial against him was treated.