Fake Priests, Unauthorized Clergy and a Growing Catholic Identity Problem in Mexico
Archbishop José Francisco González González of Tuxtla Gutiérrez warned Catholics about people posing as priests or Church representatives to solicit money without authorization. In Villaflores, a man claimed to be a priest and used a bank terminal to collect purported donations; the archdiocese confirmed he was not authorized. Similar appeals were reported at homes in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, prompting Catholic communities to warn parishioners through social media. The archbishop urged Catholics not to respond to unauthorized religious fundraising appeals.
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Two Mexican archdioceses have warned Catholics about separate cases involving people or groups presenting themselves as Catholic clergy: alleged unauthorized fundraising in Chiapas and ordinations announced by an organization outside the Catholic Church in Acapulco. The bishops urged the faithful to verify claims of Church affiliation and authorization directly with local parishes.
Archbishop José Francisco González González of Tuxtla Gutiérrez said people had posed as priests or Church representatives to solicit money for parishes. In a reported case in Villaflores, a man sought donations and used a bank terminal to accept payment, but the archdiocese determined he was not authorized to collect funds for the Church. Similar requests were reportedly made at private homes in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, prompting parish communities to issue warnings on social media.
González advised Catholics to check fundraising appeals with the parish concerned rather than respond solely on the basis of a person’s appearance or claims. He said legitimate collections should be identifiable and known to Church authorities.
Archbishop Leopoldo González González of Acapulco issued a notice on September 25 about a ceremony announced for Papagayo Park: Eleuterio Nava Galicia was listed for priestly ordination, while Hloguer Morales Miranda and Jesús de Jesús Ortiz were listed for diaconal ordination. The invitation described the participants as belonging to a “Catholic rite.”
The archdiocese said the ceremony was associated with the Apostolic Ecumenical Church Servants of the Holy Spirit of Veracruz, a religious association registered with Mexico’s Interior Ministry in 2025. According to the notice, the group identifies its rite as “non-Roman Catholic” and is not part of the Catholic Church under Pope Leo XIV or the Archdiocese of Acapulco.
The archbishop warned that sacraments administered by the named individuals would not be recognized by the Catholic Church. He directed that the notice be read at Sunday celebrations on September 27 and repeated in parishes where the individuals might encounter Catholics.
The Tuxtla Gutiérrez case involved alleged impersonation to solicit money; the Acapulco notice addressed an organization using Catholic terminology while remaining separate from the Catholic Church. Both archbishops emphasized the importance of verifying a person’s or group’s status with the relevant Church authorities.
Theological foundations of ecclesial authority and authentic Catholic ministry
Ecclesial authority in Catholic theology is not self-created power or the possession of a spiritual elite. It originates in Christ, is handed on through the apostolic ministry, and exists to preserve the Gospel, build up communion, and serve the whole People of God. Authentic Catholic ministry therefore combines a real diversity of callings with fidelity to apostolic teaching and the Church’s ordered, sacramental life.
The Church’s authority begins with Christ’s mission, not with the preferences of a community or the personal claims of a minister. Christ called the Twelve, made them witnesses to his Resurrection, and sent them to proclaim the Gospel and lead his people. The apostolic ministry was meant to continue beyond the apostles’ lifetimes, because the Church’s mission and the communication of Christ’s saving gifts continue through history.
The word apostolic thus has both a historical and a continuing meaning. The Church is founded on the original witnesses to Christ, while its ministry is transmitted through their successors. The International Theological Commission describes this continuing transmission as apostolic succession: an unbroken ministerial succession that serves the apostolic character of the whole Church.
This succession is not merely an administrative chain of officeholders. Its purpose is to preserve the same Gospel and mission entrusted to the apostles. Ordination through the laying on of hands became a significant means of transmitting that ministry and safeguarding its continuity.
Ecclesial authority is real, but its model is Christ’s service, not domination. The New Testament’s image of the leader as servant gives the governing ministry its proper character: authority is exercised for the good of the community, not as power detached from it or set above it.
A central responsibility of the Church’s pastors is to teach authentically—to interpret the Word of God handed on in Scripture and Tradition in the name of Christ. The faithful are not asked to treat this teaching merely as one opinion among others; the response owed depends on the authority being exercised and the kind of teaching given. The purpose is to maintain fidelity to the apostolic faith and communion in that faith, especially when serious disagreements arise.
That authority is not an independent source of revelation. Apostolic ministers must themselves remain bound to the Gospel they have received; they are not free to replace it with private theories or personal religious experience. The same account also recognizes a reciprocal dimension: ordained ministers must learn from the community of believers, whose life and witness contribute to the Church’s understanding and transmission of the faith.
All the faithful share in the Church’s mission, but they do not all do so in the same way. Through Christian initiation, the faithful are called to holiness, witness, and service. Their charisms—gifts given by the Holy Spirit—are for the common good and the building up of the Church, not personal distinction.
Ordained ministry has a distinctive sacramental character. Bishops, with priests and deacons as their helpers, serve the Church through teaching, sanctifying, and governing. These functions belong together in apostolic ministry; ordination is not simply public recognition of a person’s talent or a community’s choice of its representative.
Lay ministries and ordained ministry are therefore complementary, not interchangeable or adversarial. Lay people’s gifts should not be suppressed by authority, and claims to spiritual gifts should not be used to dismiss the Church’s responsibility to discern them and preserve apostolic teaching. Authority serves communion when it orders the Church’s gifts toward their common mission.
Authentic Catholic ministry is measured by more than activity, popularity, or an individual’s conviction of being called. It must remain connected to the apostolic faith, serve the Church rather than private ambition, and respect the forms of mission entrusted to the Church. The International Theological Commission distinguishes the Church’s sacramentally transmitted mission from the many genuine charisms of evangelization and service: all Christians may bear witness to the faith, while public ministry must be exercised in reference to the apostolic faith and Church mission.
This also helps distinguish ecclesial authority from mere expertise or arbitrary rule. The Church’s teaching office is not simply academic authority, nor is it a power to invent religious norms at will. It is a ministry accountable to the Word received from Christ and entrusted through the apostles.
In sum, Catholic ecclesial authority is apostolic in origin, sacramental in its ordained ministry, bounded by fidelity to the received Gospel, and ordered toward service and communion. Authentic ministry flourishes when the distinct gifts and offices of the faithful work together under that apostolic mission for the good of the whole Church.