Although in Spain they are known by the nickname of “Chocolate Nuns” for the way in which they manage to produce some sweets, the story is anything but pleasant and sees a total clash on the part of the nuns Poor Clares of Beloradoa small town in the Spanish province of Burgos, towards the Vatican including the highest authority, Pope francesco. Sixteen nuns have published (also on social media) a 70-page “Catholic Manifesto” in which they explain the reasons for the break with the Catholic Church and for which they will be excommunicated.
The story
At the basis of the incredible diatribe there would be real estate reasons: the nuns did not want to hand over the keys to their monastery to move to another. The story dates back to 2020 when there was an agreement with another bishopric to buy a convent in the Basque Country area but Rome blocked the operation. Furthermore, to obtain the money necessary for the purchase, the nuns wanted to sell a monastery but, even in this case, the Vatican opposed it.
The person following the story is the archbishop of Burgos, Mario Iceta, appointed pontifical commissioner and appointed by the Holy See to manage the case, gave the nuns until next Thursday to appear in court and clarify their position but the Poor Clares’ refusal has already been decided. “The nuns separated from the Church of the Second Vatican Council because they want to be true Catholics, and have come to the conclusion that after the death of Pius XII all the others were ‘false popes’ who taught doctrines contrary to the Catholic faith“he explained to LaPresse José Ceacerospokesperson for the nuns, nicknamed “the bartender priest” by the Spanish media due to his past as a bartender.
The accusations against the Pope
The bulk is yet to arrive: interviewed by the local Telecinco TV, the nuns reportedly said “do not recognize the authority of the Pope” is that “the Vatican is a farce”, accusing the Church of Rome of using “double and confusing languages” and contradict himself. Other strong words for Pope Francis who would have been defined with the term “usurper“. In short, exceptionally big words reported in a more moderate form on the Instagram account they created to tell the story. Furthermore, the nuns have decided to place themselves under the tutelage of Pablo de Rojas Sanchez-Franco, a Catholic excommunicated in July 2019 and founder of the sect “Pious Union of Saint Paul the Apostle“, strongly critical of the Second Vatican Council. Ceacero also declared that the Roman Church would be “teaching non-Catholic things“.
The response of the religious women
On Instagram the nuns declared that the farewell to the Church of Rome “it has nothing to do with it” with the issues that the media talks about but that the decision taken is a “a step that is the fruit of years of study, prayer and fraternal life“.
The behavior of Iceta, the archbishop of Burgos, was also strongly criticized, saying that he would have taken away access to their bank accounts, leaving them “without access to funds obtained through work and donated by benefactors“. After their failure to appear in court, the response of the Catholic Church is awaited. According to Ceacero, the nuns will not be “kicked out” from the monastery.
