Spanish Archdiocese Excommunicates Poor Clare Nuns for Schism

The Archdiocese of Burgos announced that 10 Poor Clare nuns in Belorado, Spain were excommunicated.

The decree of excommunication, signed by Archbishop Mario Iceta, was issued after the nuns rejected a summons to appear before a tribunal to answer a charge of schism.

The nuns, part of a 16-member community, previously sent a fax saying they had dissociated themselves from the Church. They also declared that they did not recognize the authority of the tribunal or its jurisdiction.

The nuns aligned themselves with Pablo de Rojas Sánchez-Franco, an excommunicated bishop. Sister Isabel de la Trinidad, the community’s superior, explained in an open letter that they would now be under his jurisdiction. The archdiocese explained that the nuns’ departure was linked to a real estate dispute over the sale of a monastery.

The Federation of Poor Clares of Our Lady of Aránzazu plans to send nuns to care for the elderly sisters who remain at the Belorado convent.

Archbishop Iceta described the excommunication as “a juridical action seen by the Church as a medicinal measure, which encourages reflection and personal conversion.”

Archbishop Iceta added that “if there is no voluntary departure in the near future, the legal services will have no choice but to initiate any legal action that may be necessary.”

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