Who is Padre Adam Kotas? Death claim explored as Polish TikTok pastor reportedly issues statement  

Padre Adam Kotas, a 39-year-old Polish priest who went viral on TikTok for his unusual sermons laced with wit, denied claims that he is dead after social media users began expressing their concern for his well-being. The concerns started because of Padre Adam Kotas's long absence from social media.

Padre Adam Kotas, who was born in Poland, graduated from Loyola University, Chicago, with a college degree in philosophy. Kotas then studied Religious studies at the University of Detroit Mercy and obtained a Master of Divinity in Theology at SS. Cyril & Methodius Seminary.

Kotas was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Santa Rosa in 2010. After his training as a priest, Kotas spent time living in Mexico, where he learned the Spanish language. He also spent about three years in the Diocese of Las Vegas.

Kotas became a TikTok star after he went viral during the pandemic for his peculiar sermons interspersed with humor and dance. Over two million people followed him on his professional Facebook page. In one of his videos, he said:

“Because I don’t hear anything from one ear. I never like to say which ear because they want to confess in that ear.”

His popularity online has often landed him in conflict with the church. The Diocese of Santa Rosa and Las Vegas have both publicly disapproved of Father Kotas's sermons. The contention prompted Kotas to declare in a video that he had voluntarily resigned from the Roman Catholic jurisdiction and joined the Buffalo-Pittsburgh Diocese of the Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC) in 2021.

Shortly after, the Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa excommunicated Father Kotas for publicly departing from the Catholic faith. In a statement, they wrote:

“By his actions, Fr. Adam Kotas has incurred a latae sententiae excommunication (cf. Canons 751 and 1364). By his own actions and words, he has placed himself in schism by declaring his affiliation with a denomination (Polish National Catholic Church - PNCC) which, by its own admission, rejects the authority of the Roman Pontiff.”

However, in an interview with KGET, Father Kotas, who still considers himself a catholic, criticized the Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa's decision to excommunicate him from the Catholic faith.

“All people who say that I am not a priest do not understand the theology of the Catholic Church, when a man is ordained a priest it is until death and after death even if I go to hell I will continue to be a priest, because the priesthood never erases one of the three sacraments that imprint character according to Catholic theology.”

Father Kotas further alleged that he was forced to resign after the Diocese of Santa Rosa repeatedly threatened and pressured him to leave.

“They threatened me if you don’t leave, we’re going to do everything so you don’t become a priest, so much pressure makes me sick,” Kotas said. “I joined the Polish National Church because I needed to be here in Las Vegas. I felt called to be in Las Vegas. I came for my health.”

Meanwhile, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Vegas also sent a letter stating Father Kotas had formed a breakaway church and had departed from the Catholic faith.

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What happened to Padre Adam Kotas?

Recently, followers of Padre Adam Kotas expressed their concern online after the TikTok priest seemingly took a break from the internet. The concerns stemmed from a woman on social media claiming that Adam Kotas was missing after the priest was noticeably absent from social media platforms.

As people online began claiming that the priest had died, a friend identified on TikTok as Marisol Castro published a video in which Adam Kotas denied death claims circulating online. The video which showed Padre Adam Kotas assuring followers that he was fine, was captioned:

“Father Adam is in perfect condition, he is in Las Vegas, everything is very good, where do we get this information from? With one of the father's friends, Susy (...) Don't believe in gossip, in all those things that are being discussed. “The father is in perfect condition and they will see him soon.”

It appears that Father Adam Kotas is alive and has merely decided to take a break from social media.