Pope Benedict XVI has dismissed a former Springfield diocesan priest from the clerical state ex officio et pro bono ecclesiae, that is, by his office as pope and for the good of the church.

According to the Oct. 12 decree, Eugene E. Costa is no longer a cleric of the Catholic Church; he is not permitted to perform any priestly ministries and is not to present himself as a priest.

The papal decision came at the request of Bishop George J. Lucas and there is no appeal.

Costa, 57, has been on leave from active ministry since January 2005.

A native of Springfield, he was ordained in Rome on July 24, 1976 and served in a number of parishes in the diocese. In 1993, he was named chancellor and planning coordinator for the Springfield diocese and was also administrator and then pastor of St. John Vianney in Sherman and Holy Family in Athens, where he remained until his removal from ministry.

According to Catholic theology, the "character imprinted by ordination is forever." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1583) However, for grave reasons, an ordained priest can be discharged from the clerical state; that is, he is released from the obligations and functions of the priesthood and is forbidden to exercise priestly ministry.