A Catholic priest from Sorsogon, excommunicated by the Church for breaking the “seal of confession,” said on Thursday he planned to appeal his case before Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes and the Catholic Church hierarchy in the Philippines.Father Alejandre V. Galias told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that he would seek an audience with Bishop Bastes and explain his side.
He said he would ask the bishop to revoke his excommunication and restore his authority to perform his priestly duties.
When interviewed on Thursday, the 58-year-old priest said he was continuing his normal routine as priest.
But when asked if he was still saying masses, Galias refused to comment.
Galias said he found his excommunication questionable as he was not given due process.
In a decree dated September 21, 2007, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sorsogon declared the penalty of “latae sententiae excommunication” against Galias.
Excommunication means the exclusion of a Catholic from the community of the Church for misconduct.
Galias is now prohibited from celebrating and attending masses, and is barred from receiving any of the sacraments.
Bishop Bastes was quoted in the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) website as saying that Galias violated the Church rule that binds a priest to keep under absolute secrecy the sins confessed by penitents.
Bastes said he ordered Galias’ excommunication in response to a formal complaint and after conducting an investigation that confirmed Galias’ violation of the seal of confession.
“This is a very serious breach of confidence. [Priests] know this as a serious law of the Church. The law must be followed. I am the authority, being his bishop, to implement the law,” Bastes told a Radio Veritas interview.
Bastes said different dioceses in the country have been informed of Galias’ excommunication.
Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz, an expert on canon law, explained that for a Catholic, excommunication means that one is separated from the life of the Church.
An excommunicated person is not included anymore in the prayers of the entire Catholic community during Masses and in the liturgy.
But the punishment does not mean that people should ostracize the excommunicated, according to Cruz.
It just means that the excommunicated is just “thrown out of the benefits of the Church’s prayer” which happen to include all the Christians faithful throughout the world.
Excommunication is either “ferendae sententiae” (imposed as the sentence of an ecclesiastical court) or “latae sententiae” (incurred at the moment the offensive act takes place).
The most common grounds for excommunication are abortion and being a direct or indirect agent for its commission, breaking the seal of confession, and physically striking the Pope.
Excommunication is the most serious ecclesiastical penalty levied against ministers of the Church.
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