The court stated that the freedom of religion of a police officer engaged in the protection of victims and witnesses should prevail on the needs of his admittedly delicate job.
by Massimo Introvigne
This month, a decision by the Constitutional Division (Sala Constitucional, or Sala IV) of the Supreme Court of Costa Rica on the right of a Hebrew Roots public servant not to work on Saturday was published and became executory.
The decision was rendered on November 17, 2023 about the case of a police officer in the Costa Rica Judicial Investigation Body who, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, joined the Hebrew Roots movement. The movement is sabbatarian, i.e., it teaches that the weekly day of rest to be strictly observed is Saturday rather than Sunday. The official thus asked to abstain from work on Saturday and expressed his willingness to work on Sunday. This was denied by both the direction of the Judicial Investigative Body and the High Council of the Judiciary, to which the officer had appealed.
Interestingly, the direction of the Judicial Investigative Body sought the opinion of the Embassy of Israel. The answer stated that police officers and those employed in similar capacities in Israel do work on Sabbath. Ultra-Orthodox Jews who have a strict view of Sabbath simply do not seek employment in the police. The Costa Rican officer’s job is in the delicate field of protecting victims and witnesses of crimes. His superiors argued that accommodating his religious problems about the Sabbath would put witnesses and victims at risk.
The Supreme Court, however, disagreed. It stated that religious liberty should prevail on administrative rules and that certainly the working schedule of the agents in charge of protecting witnesses and victims may be accommodated accordingly. It thus ordered the direction of the Judicial Investigation Body to allow the officer not to work on Saturday.
The Supreme Court also implied, quite correctly, that the Embassy of Israel is not competent to assess the beliefs of the Hebrew Roots movement, which is not part of Judaism. Often confused with the Messianic Jews, with whom it shares some beliefs (but not all), Hebrew Roots (Raíces Hebreas) is a network of independent groups of Christians who believe both that Jesus is the Messiah and that his coming has not abrogated the Law of Moses. They insist the latter is still in force, including the prescriptions on Sabbath.
Some (but not all) of the American initiators of the Hebrew Roots movement were inspired by the teachings of Herbert W. Armstrong, the founder of the Worldwide Church of God, who was himself a sabbatarian. The Hebrew Roots movement has been particularly successful in some Latin American countries, including Costa Rica.
