Brazil's Roman Catholic Church says it won't recognize more than 400 marriages performed over the past 20 years by a defrocked priest.The archdiocese of the city of Goiania says in a statement that Osiel Luiz dos Santos was forbidden to perform priestly duties when he got married in 1988.
But Tuesday's statement says he kept on celebrating mass and administering the sacraments.
It says couples married by Santos must now seek a "legitimate priest" to renew their vows.
The church action does not have legal implications because Brazilian law recognizes only civil marriages.
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(Source: AP)