The story is not trivial. Above all, it puts a strain on the nerves of the Church. In Santa Clara de Belorado, a small village of 1,800 inhabitants located near Burgos, in the north of Spain, a community of nuns leads life hard at the Vatican, which it openly criticizes. These sixteen Poor Clare sisters have directly entered into rebellion against the Church, believing they are victims of “persecution”.
On May 13, this community installed in a 15th century brick convent created a surprise by announcing its break with the Catholic Church, in a 70-page “manifesto” accompanied by a letter published on social networks. In response, the Church seriously considered excommunicating them.
The origin of the dispute is to be found in a real estate standoff. In 2020, the nuns reached an agreement with the neighboring bishopric of Vitoria for the purchase of the convent of Orduna, in the Spanish Basque Country. But this sale was canceled, the promised deposits having ultimately not been paid. The transaction was “blocked by Rome”, which “put a spoke in our wheels”. The sisters even created an Instagram account to relay their grievances.
Under sectarian influence?
But the dispute turns out to be much deeper, of an ideological nature. In their missive, the sisters point to an alleged “doctrinal chaos” at the Vatican, which they accuse of “doublespeak” and “contradictions”. “The Vatican is a farce” and “we do not recognize the Pope”, insisted in an interview to the Telecinco channel, some of these nuns, who say they are now under the authority of an excommunicated priest: Pablo de Rojas Sánchez-Franco, known for his ultraconservative positions. “It is very painful to hear from the mouth of the Mother Superior that the Pope is a usurper,” regretted Mgr Iceta, referring to an “unprecedented” offensive.
According to Luis Santamaria, “everything suggests that the sisters did not make their decision in complete freedom”.