The Archbishop of Burgos, Mario Iceta, has excommunicated the Poor Clare nuns of the Belorado monastery who a few days ago declared that they wanted to “voluntarily separate” from the Catholic Church. On several occasions the nuns said they “do not recognize the Pope” and called the Vatican “a farce”.
The Poor Clare nuns of the Belorado monastery excommunicated – Instagram photo
The archbishop of Burgos, Mario Iceta, has excommunicated the Poor Clare nuns of the Belorado monastery, in Spain, who a few days ago declared that they wanted to “voluntarily separate” from the Catholic Church. The excommunication, formalized on Saturday 22 June, concerns ten nuns of the community.
The archbishop’s decision came after the expiration of the ultimatum given to the Poor Clares to present themselves at the ecclesiastical tribunal and explain their position. The nuns had not appeared in the courtroom claiming to do not recognize the authority of the Church of Rome and they reiterated their desire to separate in a note published on the Instagram profile they opened.
With excommunication the Poor Clares would have to leave the monastery. In recent days, however, they did not want to hand over the keys to the building to the archbishop.
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In a statement, Iceta pointed out that “the Declaration of excommunication it is a juridical action considered by the Church as a medicinal measure, which moves reflection and personal conversion”. However, the archbishop said he was ready to withdraw the decree in case of repentance of the nuns.
Who are the excommunicated Poor Clare nuns and why are they against the Vatican
The conflict between the nuns and the Vatican began in May, when the abbess of the community Isabel de la Trinidad made public a Manifest Catholic of 70 pages in which he communicated the nuns’ decision to leave the Catholic Church and place themselves under the guardianship of Pablo de Rojas Sanchez-Franco.
The man, excommunicated in July 2019, is the founder of the ‘Pious Union of Saint Paul the Apostle’, a sect that does not recognize the Second Vatican Council and believes that the last ‘true pope’ was Pius XII. From that moment on, a crisis arose between the nuns and the Vatican.
In fact, on several occasions the nuns have declared that they “do not recognize the Pope” (Francis, ed) and called the Vatican “a farce.” They also accused Pope Bergoglio of using “double languages and confused” and to contradict themselves.
The archbishop of Burgos, Mario Iceta, was nominated pontifical commissioner and appointed by the Holy See to manage the case. In recent days he had asked the Poor Clares to hand over the keys to the monastery and had given them until Friday 21 June to present themselves at the Court ecclesiastical to explain their position. The nuns, however, refused and reiterated their desire to distance themselves from the Catholic Church.
According to what we read in the Spanish media, rather than a decision due to faith, the separation from the Church of Rome could be motivated by a dispute over a real estate transactionor the purchase of the monastery of Orduña, in the Basque Country, managed by the same community of nuns.
Furthermore, doubts were also raised about the role played by the abbess of the community, whose mandate had expired on May 29, in convincing the other sisters. The abbess denied them accusations by posting some videos on Instagram in which you can see them clarisse smilingin harmony and in the company of their relatives.
