Shrine priest suspended for not fulfilling requirements

A Catholic priest from India who ministers at a small Lake Zurich shrine has been suspended by the Archdiocese of Chicago and threatened with excommunication, church officials said.

The Rev. Neville Monteiro, who is listed as “pastor” at the privately-owned Saint Pius V Shrine, is forbidden to exercise certain Catholic holy orders because he has not fulfilled church requirements, according to a Nov. 5 “notification” from officials.

In the letter, officials said if Monteiro continues performing ceremonies such as marriages or the sacrament of penance while suspended, they would be null and void in the “eyes of God and the Church.”

The archdiocese also warned if he “does not seek to regularize his situation and continues the illegitimate exercise of priestly ministry,” he could be excommunicated.

Several attempts to reach shrine officials and Monteiro for comment were unsuccessful.

The archdiocese is the governing arm of the Catholic Church in the Chicago area, and registers and issues powers for priests, said Susan Burritt, spokeswoman for the archdiocese.

Saint Pius V Shrine at 30 Miller Road is not part of the archdiocese. The archdiocese does not provide staffing for the shrine, but it does oversee the priests who serve there, Burritt said.

Monteiro was ordained a priest with the Archdiocese of Goa and Damao, India, before coming to the Chicago area more than seven years ago, she said.

Once arriving here, Monteiro was supposed to receive approval from the Archdiocese of Chicago and Cardinal Francis George to serve in the Catholic Church. All priests who come to the United States from other countries must do so, Burritt said.

The notification states that requirement was never fulfilled. Burritt said Monteiro was stripped of his “faculties” similar to his license on Nov. 5, 2003. That means Monteiro was not allowed to preach and his ability to administer the sacrament of penance was revoked, according to the notification.

It also states Monteiro assumed the title of pastor for Saint Pius V Shrine without being appointed to such an office by the archbishop, officials said.

Monteiro has failed to respond to the archdiocese since the revocation of his duties in 2003, which led to the recent suspension. That includes removing his ability to validly assist in the marriage of Catholics, officials said.

“If he does so in the past or does so in the future, the couple have not received and will not receive the sacrament of matrimony. Consequently the couple are not married in the eyes of God and the Church,” the notification states.

Burritt said Monteiro has been informed about what he needs to do lift the suspension, but she would not provide details.

The shrine's website at stpiusvshrine.org said it was chartered and incorporated in Illinois by Roman Catholics, and has been “providing the Holy Mass, Traditional Sacraments and ministering to discerning Catholics who prefer to avoid liturgical novelties and errors.”

According to the Archdiocese of Chicago website at archchicago.org, a shrine is a smaller church or other sacred space used by the faithful for pilgrimages, and has limited sacramental and liturgical services available.