José Anastácio Alves (born 1963) is a

missing Missing or The Missing may refer to: Film * ''Missing'' (1918 film), an American silent drama directed by James Young * ''Missing'' (1982 film), an American historical drama directed by Costa-Gavras about the 1973 coup in Chile *, a Belgian film ...

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

n Roman Catholic priest who exercised ecclesiastical functions in the Portuguese Parish of

Gentilly, Val-de-Marne Gentilly () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is the closest commune to Paris, located from the city center. Name The name Gentilly was recorded for the first time in the 6th century as ''Gentilly'', a royal estate of ...

, from 2012 until 2018, before being removed from office in June that year by the Bishop of Funchal due to allegations of child abuse.

Priesthood

Anastácio Alves was ordained in the

Cathedral of Funchal The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption () in Sé, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Funchal, which encompasses all of the Autonomous Region of Madeira. The late fifteenth-century cathedral is one ...

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Teodoro Faria, on 28 July 1990, along with José Tolentino Mendonça. After his ordination as priest, he was assigned to the Parish of Quinta Grande, where he exercised his office between 1992 and 1999. In 1999 he was transferred to Parish Nazaré, in São Martinho, where he worked until 2008. In 2008, Alves requested to be transferred to Portuguese Catholic Mission in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, in order to provide "spiritual support" to the Portuguese community living in that country and to further pursue his

Theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

studies in the

University of Fribourg The University of Fribourg (; ) is a public university located in Fribourg, Switzerland. The roots of the university can be traced back to 1580, when the notable Jesuit Peter Canisius founded the Collège Saint-Michel in the City of Fribourg ...

. Bishop Carrilho approved the transfer. Alves' parishioners in Nazaré spoke out against his "sudden" departure. Alves lived in Switzerland for four years before returning to the Portuguese Parish of Gentilly. On July 24, 2018, he was removed from office in Gentilly by the Portuguese Conference of Bishops in response to an investigation of child abuse initiated in Madeira by the Public Ministry and the Diocese of Funchal.

Child abuse

In 2005, when Bishop Teodoro de Faria was still head of the Diocese of Funchal, Alves was reported to the police as a child abuser and was made ''

arguido ''Arguido'' (; if male) or ''arguida'' (; if female), normally translated "named suspect" or "formal suspect", is a status in Portuguese type legal systems, including those of Portugal, Macau, Angola and Mozambique. It is given to a person whom t ...

'' the Public Ministry. This case was closed due to lack of evidence in 2007, when Alves was in charge of the Parish of Nazaré. One year after the case his closed, the recently arrived Bishop Carilho announced that Alves has requested him to be transferred to Switzerland. On 24 July 2018, the Portuguese Conference of Bishops removed Alves from office in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in response to another alleged child abuse case being investigated in Madeira. On September 2, the same year, Bishop Carrilho suspended Alves from all ecclesiastical duties, announcing a "zero tolerance" policy and vowing to send all investigation reports and conclusions to the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of t ...

, in accordance with

Canon Law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

. The diocese has made several attempts to contact him pertaining to the child abuse investigation, but his whereabouts remain unknown. In late 2019, Alves sent a letter to the diocese "asking to be released from his priestly duties", though he refrained from disclosing his location or explaining his absence. On 23 June 2021, the Pope

Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...

"acceded to the request" of Anastácio Alves for "dispensation from the obligations inherent to Holy

Ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

, including priestly celibacy". Having failed to contact the said priest in order to inform him of the decision, the Diocese of Funchal "was instructed by the

to make the Pope's decision public.".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alves, Anastacio 1963 births Living people Missing person cases in Switzerland 2010s missing person cases People from Santa Cruz, Madeira Portuguese Roman Catholic priests Laicized Roman Catholic priests

Priesthood

Child abuse

See also

References