Now here’s a Catholic horror story, all the more horrible because it really happened: A con man forges documents to allow him to pose as a validly ordained priest and, in that capacity, conducts Masses, baptisms, and weddings at parishes in Arizona:
"Fred Brito believes that his true calling is as a Catholic priest. But he also makes quite a good psychiatrist. Most recently he has been earning £55,000 as a university fund-raiser.
"The only problem is that Brito, 50, an accomplished con artist, held none of these positions legitimately, having spent nearly 30 years bluffing his way into a string of white-collar jobs.
[…]
"One of his most stunning deceptions was as Father Federico B. Gomez de Esparza, a Norbertine priest ordained in Mexico, at a number of parishes in Arizona.
"He forged the necessary documents and studied liturgy, conducted weddings and baptisms and held mass up to four times a day until he was exposed.
"’By pretending to be a priest, Fred Brito played with the souls of people who trusted him,’ said Father Thomas Zurcher, vicar for priests in the diocese of Phoenix.
"’In doing so he compounded their hurt and shrivelled their spirit. He fakes being nice when in fact he is a mean-spirited person who lives without regard for others.’
"Brito disagreed. ‘I do feel bad because I was not actually a priest, but on the other hand no priest had ever connected to the Latino community there as I did. Yes, it was a mistake, but I also changed lives. I loved that work.’"
Note Fr. Flimflam’s emphasis on how he "connected" to the Latino community and claims that he "changed" lives. But, objectively speaking, by his "celebration" of the sacraments, he has left a huge sacramental mess behind for the Diocese of Phoenix to clean up.
Why is it, that in the realm of religion, "feelings" and "connectedness" are all that matter? Mr. Brito won’t be able to easily dismiss charges of posing as a medical doctor with claims that he "connected" with those who believed him a doctor and "changed lives." If he practiced medicine without a license, he could be in for stiff legal penalties. Given the sacramental havoc he’s wrought in Arizona, I almost wish similar legal penalties were in place for impersonating a priest.
The extra-horrible thing here is, not only are all the weddings he performed invalid — along with all the “masses” he celebrated and confessions he heard — but also, it seems to me, there’s a very real possibility that even the baptisms he performed were invalid.
Although a layperson or even an unbaptized person can validly baptize if they have the requisite intention to do what the Church does, it seems very plausible to me that someone approaching the administration of the sacraments with this level of conscious and deliberate fraud might very well have lacked that level of intent. From his perspective, the whole thing may well have been nothing more than a charade.
If it were my kid, I’d want a conditional baptism for sure.
In Ohio, a person solemnizing a marriage without being a validly ordained minister or priest faces 6 months in prison per marriage. I would presume Arizona would have a similar law.
It is against the law here for a person authorized to solemnize marriages to knowingly make a false return of a marriage or pretended marriage. That is a class two misdemeanor, which gets 4 months in jail.
However, I don’t know how this applies to someone who is only pretending to be authorized. The section on persons authorized to solemnize marriages makes no reference to a penalty for those who who pretend to be authorized.
This is not all that rare, of course. Many dioceses have experiences looking into such queries from regular folks, and having to reply in the end, “We are unable to verify that XYZ is a Catholic priest.” Or words to that effect.
Michelle,
You say you wish there was a law to take care of this fellow. Well, there probably is, but not necessariy here on earth. I don’t have the scripture chapter and verse, but God has a special place for bad priests. I would venture He might also w. this fellow. However, I am praying for his salvation as Christ asked us to, knowing that He is both merciful and the Perfect Judge.
And to tell you the truth, knowing that puts the fear of God into me too.
God bless.
My first thought was that I’d bet the couples he’s married who have subsequently divorced will be relieved to have easy grounds for an annulment. But would they? I’m curious whether the marriages he’d conducted would be invalid in the eyes of the Church, since it’s really the couple that performs the sacrament, and the priest is a witness, from what I understand.
Can he also get excommunicated for this:
“DiBritto, a Catholic pastor for over two decades, came to UCLA a month ago with a mission slightly different from those he has seen as a man of religion.
[…]
“This is the first time that the pastor, who is not yet ready to become an ordained priest by personal choice, has entered the medical field.
“And at a time when the Christian faith has gone from the privacy of practitioners’ homes to the center of the political arena, DiBritto says he is able to separate his faith from his public life and is not afraid to speak out against tradition or corruption in his church.
“‘If I were to be a Catholic priest, I would be a rebel priest,’ DiBritto said, explaining that he supports abortion under certain circumstances, is a strong advocate for stem cell research and believes same-sex couples should receive the same rights straight married couples do.”
http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/articles.asp?ID=30917
Story about his (“Brito, who went by the name Federiqkoe DiBritto at UCLA”) arrest at UCLA:
http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/articles.asp?id=33698
Out of curiosity, how would the diocese go about fixing this? What of people who have been ordained that were “baptized” by this man?
Jesse,
One does not need to be a priest to baptize a person. In fact, an atheist can baptize as long as it is done with water and using the Trinitarian form and done with the intention of baptizing.
The only thing I see a problem here is that of intent. We would have to assume HIS intent was pure when he performed the act so it should be OK.
The latest from Fred Brito. Take a look.
Oh, and save all the hateful comments for someone who really cares. Because I could care less.
FREDDRICKBRITO.BLOGSPOT.COM