Posted on 05/01/2013 2:18:20 AM PDT by markomalley
The Catholic Church has excommunicated a Brazilian priest after he defended homosexuality, open marriage and other practices counter to Church teaching in online videos.
In a statement released late on Monday, the priest's diocese said Father Roberto Francisco Daniel, known to local parishioners as Padre Beto, had "in the name of 'freedom of expression' betrayed the promise of fealty to the Church."
The priest "injured the Church with grave statements counter to the dogma of Catholic faith and morality." The actions amount to "heresy and schism," the statement said, the penalty for which is excommunication, or expulsion from the Church.
The rare punishment follows what Daniel's bishop and the priest himself said were repeated rebukes about the videos and other public activities, such as a radio broadcast and local newspaper column, in which he challenged Church doctrine.
The 47-year-old cleric, who studied theology in Germany, is popular in the southeastern city of Bauru, where he has been a priest since 2001. He is known for his rock T-shirts, a silver stud pierced through his right ear and his habit of posing, as on his official Facebook page, with a glass of beer.
On Facebook and Twitter, Daniel posted a brief statement about the excommunication: "I feel honored to belong to the long list of people who have been murdered and burned alive for thinking and searching for knowledge."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Start in Chicago.
I guess now he’ll have to look for another job to support himself and his views. He basically bit the hand that fed him (I.e., priests are supported by the church - lifetime employment is a way to look at it).
Is McDonalds hiring? Maybe he can spout off against the church when suggesting fries with your burger.
It went on and on here in my town. The radical priest ruined an old established parish called Corpus Christi in the City of Rochester NY.
Had the local bishop "nipped it"....the parish may have survived.
What kind of church did he think he belonged to? Anyway, the purpose of religion is so that you can change, not so that you can change it to suit yourself.
I’m guessing Father Daniel may have wanted to wear a pink suit too?
It would probably go well with the ear ring.
Now how about Joe Biteme and Nancy Lugosi?
I agree, they gotta lot of work to do in the states especially in the northeast.
“Church excommunicates Brazil priest...”: I think this title is wrong. Although I am an ignorant man, not knowing Portuguese, from what I have read in the English summary, the linked article, and a Reuters article I found, there has been no clear sentence of excommunication. There is no Bishop taking responsibility for an “I EXCOMMUNICATE YOU!” There probably is only some ambiguous press release from some committee to the effect that in its opinion the priest has excommunicated himself.
Let me guess: Bishop Hubbard?
I don’t know. There seems to be quite a few quotes from both sides (the priest and the Archdiocese) that seem to say that an excommunication has actually happened.
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