Excommunication of rebellious Poor Clares: Archbishop acts decisively

Archbishop of Burgos, Mario Iceta, announced on Saturday the excommunication of a group of rebellious sisters from the Order of Poor Clares in the town of Belorado in northern Spain. The conflict between the Poor Clares and the archdiocese concerns, among other things, the nuns' refusal to recognize the decrees of the Second Vatican Council.

Archbishop Iceta's decision culminated in a conflict lasting more than a year between church authorities and the 10 nuns accused of schism, who refused to appear before the ecclesiastical court.

Archbishop Iceta conveyed that a decree expelling the sisters from the clerical state was issued along with the document confirming the excommunication. In light of these decisions, the hierarch emphasized that the Poor Clares would have to leave the monastery in Belorado and be replaced by other nuns.

Authorities from the Spanish archdiocese stated in a communiqué that the rebellious nuns' exclusion was due, among other things, to their refusal to recognize the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical court.

The conflict between the Poor Clares in Belorado and the local archdiocese involved, among other issues, the management of church properties and the nuns' stance on rejecting the decrees of the Second Vatican Council from 1962-1965, which were introduced to reform and modernize the Church.

In May, the Poor Clares published their position on the conflict with church authorities. In a document titled "Catholic Manifesto," they stated that they do not recognize the authority of the local bishop or Pope Francis. They consider Pope Pius XII, who died in 1958, to be the last legal leader of the Catholic Church.