An unprecedented controversy has erupted around the 16 Poor Clare nuns of Belorado (Burgos), who have decided to leave the Catholic Church to follow the faith of Pablo de Rojas Sánchez-Franco, a self-proclaimed excommunicated bishop. The archbishop of Burgos, Mario Iceta, and the spokesperson for the nuns, José Ceaceros, have engaged in a crossroads of accusations that has exposed the division and tension around this matter.
The conflict developed during the broadcast of the program ‘And now Sonsoles’, where the issue of the nuns of Belorado was addressed. Mario Iceta has stated that he received documents in which the nuns reported their abandonment of the Catholic Church to go under the jurisdiction of Pablo de Rojas, rejecting Vatican II and the Pope. For his part, Ceaceros has accused the archbishop of lying and defaming, denying the existence of a complaint related to the sale of a property.
The departure of the nuns of Belorado from the Catholic Church is related to the aspiration to sell one of their properties, the convent of Derio (Vizcaya), with the aim of acquiring the monastery of Orduña, which they consider larger and more suitable for their needs. . However, the Vatican has blocked this transaction, even when they had an additional million from a potential buyer. Faced with the refusal of the ecclesiastical authority, they have chosen to separate from the Catholic Church and seek a new spiritual path.
The refusal has unleashed a series of cross accusations between the parties involved. While Archbishop Iceta has indicated that they will proceed according to the instructions of the Holy See, Ceaceros has defended the decision of the nuns, arguing that they sought spiritual refuge in the faith of Pablo de Rojas after years of disagreements with the conciliar Catholic Church.
The spokesperson for the nuns stressed that the decision to leave the Catholic Church was made after deep reflection on the doctrinal discrepancies and obstacles they have faced. Furthermore, he has challenged the archbishop to prove his claims, suggesting that the day his veracity is proven, he himself will ask for forgiveness on his knees.
“Mr. Iceta has said that the Orduña mounts have filed a complaint regarding the property issue and that is a lie. That complaint does not exist and he will not be able to prove it,” Ceaceros commented bluntly. “There you will see who is lying and who is telling the truth. Let him show the truth, the truth will set us free, let him show where the complaint is and let him not say barbarities,” added the priest, accused of not being one by one of Sonsoles’ collaborators, Antonio Naranjo: “He wears collars and is disguised as a priest without being one,” he also considered, calling it verbosity.
The archbishop of Burgos, Mario Iceta, decided not to enter into the rag: “I am not going to go in to answer at all, although I appreciate the possibility of doing so.”
The situation has generated a division in the Belorado community and has aroused public interest. Meanwhile, the archbishop has urged the faithful to refrain from participating in liturgical acts in the monasteries of the rebel nuns.
