An open letter and a petition document the dissatisfaction of five communities in Vila Prudente, on the east side of São Paulo, against the Catholic Church’s decision to remove Father Ivanildo de Assis Mendes Tavares, 39, from his religious duties.
The decision, signed by Cardinal Dom Odilo Pedro Scherer, Archbishop of São Paulo, prohibits Father Assis from publicly celebrating the sacraments and exercising any priestly function in the Archdiocese of São Paulo.
Born in Cape Verde, black and with dreadlocked hair, the priest is known for his proximity to residents of the Vila Prudente favelas and immigrants, for the religious work he does in prisons and for defending causes such as black movements and LGBTQIA+.
He was punished, according to the archdiocese document, for having participated in a community wedding without church authorization held on October 22 in Franco da Rocha, in the metropolitan region of São Paulo. Father Assis is accused of “simulating a sacrament”.
“It should be noted that at the celebration of the marriage in question, representatives of other religious denominations were present, with active participation, which is not foreseen in the canonical form for the celebration of the sacrament of marriage”, says an excerpt from the document signed by Dom Odilo.
In another passage, there is the statement that the ceremony was attended by couples prevented from contracting Catholic marriage because of “previous ties, in addition to three same-sex couples”.
The community wedding was organized by the Franco da Rocha City Hall in a sports gym. It was the 15th edition of this type of event in the city. In addition to making civil unions official, the couples received an interfaith blessing. Father Assis, yalorixá Tania ti Oyá, pastor Sérgio Cunha and kardecist José Lúcio Arantes were present.
According to Assis, the fact that he blessed three homoaffective couples led to complaints from the top of the church, as if he had celebrated a gay marriage. “I just made a blessing. Like blessing the dog, blessing the cat, blessing the car. So I blessed people”, says the priest.
After a conversation with Dom Odilo, he was suspended. Before traveling to Cape Verde, where he will be on vacation until March, the priest wrote a letter of thanks for the solidarity received and made it clear what he thought about the punishment.
“We are discussing something very serious, because we can ordain homoaffective people, but we cannot bless them,” he said in the text. “I, in my 20-something years of walking, met homoaffective seminarians, priests, bishops and cardinals. I saw and saw people who love, who dedicate themselves, who give themselves totally for the sake of the kingdom of God. If tomorrow they want to build families and have an assumed relationship, they will not be entitled to an official blessing from the mother Roman Catholic Apostolic Church”.
The religious also wrote that he prefers to tell his nephews that he was suspended for blessing people than for robbing the church, being accused of pedophilia, having made someone pregnant or separating families.
Since the punishment was announced, at the end of November, he has received the solidarity of residents of Vila Prudente. The parish house, which he is about to leave, is always full of friends that the religious has won since arriving in the neighborhood in 2013.
The open letter in protest against the punishment is signed by the Catholic communities São José Operário (Vila Prudente favela), Nossa Senhora Aparecida (Jacaraípe favela), São Francisco de Assis (Ilha das Cobras favela), Nossa Senhora das Graças (Haiti favela) and Santa Terezinha do Menino Jesus (Sabesp favela).
Padre Assis is part of the Congregation Missionaries of the Holy Spirit. Before São Paulo, he already lived in Lisbon, Tefé (in Amazonas) and Paris. He went to Vila Prudente to help Father Patrick Clarke, an Irish missionary and one of the founders of the Favelado Defense Movement.
He had “use of order” from the Archdiocese of São Paulo, a permission to exercise religious functions in the city, which has now been withdrawn.
In communities on the east side, missionaries work at a day care center, at a cultural center that offers classes for children in the region, and at a recycling center.
Padre Assis used to say that his Jesus “is black, sticks with his brothers, steps in the alleys and alleys”. In a recent interview with musician João Gordo, he said he lost count of how many times he was stopped by the police and called a pothead before identifying himself as a priest. “I think my skin bothers me”.
According to the Archdiocese of São Paulo, the precautionary measure applied in the case is provided for in the norms of the Catholic Church when there is a serious irregularity from a religious point of view.
The institution explains that what caused the measure was the possible canonical crime of “simulation” of a marriage, since there was no forwarding of the celebration of unions and the matrimonial process was not carried out, as determined by ecclesiastical norms.
In a note, the archdiocese stated that the priest could not celebrate without the permission of the local bishop or parish priest. He also could not hold the celebration together with representatives of other religions without receiving a “waiver” for doing so.
“It was a collective civil marriage ceremony and not a simple blessing. The people who were there wanted to get married and not just receive a blessing”, says the note.
According to the church, the removal of the order to the priest may be reversed after the facts are clarified and “depending on the priest’s acceptance of observing the rules of the church”.
The presence of homoaffective couples was not mentioned in the note sent to the report.
I am Frederick Tuttle, who works in 247 News Agency as an author and mostly cover entertainment news. I have worked in this industry for 10 years and have gained a lot of experience. I am a very hard worker and always strive to get the best out of my work. I am also very passionate about my work and always try to keep up with the latest news and trends.
