Friar Natale Santonocito, 61, has been excommunicated after publicly declaring that Pope Francis is an illegitimate leader. In a video posted to YouTube, he laid out his objections to Francis and the Vatican. He argues that Pope Benedict did not officially resign and that the current Pope is a usurper. However popular these arguments may be, Santonocito was excommunicated for his views. Many Catholics oppose Pope Francis, and he has been embroiled in controversies.
The priest, ordained in 2023, worked at San Cesarea Church near Rome. He was initially investigated for posting videos claiming Pope Francis is an ‘antipope.’ In one video, he explains, “The Pope is not the Pope. He never was.” After these videos were posted, he was excommunicated and removed from active ministry in the Diocese of Tivoli and Palestrina.
This week, he posted a YouTube video reacting to the situation. In the video, Santonocito is wearing his vestments and speaking his native Italian. “I have to shout out this truth that many may find shocking,” he stated. “For 11 years, we have had an antipope.” In earlier posts, he argued: “The so-called Francis is not the Pope, he never was because Benedict XVI, on February 11, 2013, never renounced the papacy.”
He argues that Benedict “did not abdicate by renouncing the munus petrino, i.e., the investiture as pope that derives directly from God.” “Rather, Pope Benedict made a declaration in which he renounced the ministerium, the practical exercise of power, and not the papacy,” said the embattled priest. In response to these allegations, Bishop Mauro Parmeggiani launched an investigation.
He wrote in a public statement, “Having ascertained the culpability of the offender and finding the dissemination of such statements incompatible with the exercise of sacred ministry, in the name of the Catholic Church, the bishop has declared his excommunication.” The bishop warned his followers of “adherence to his heretical [and] schismatic teachings.”
Pope Francis has long been controversial, both for the circumstances surrounding his ascension to office and for his views. Recently, the Pope attacked President Donald Trump, calling his plan to deport illegal immigrants from the United States a “disgrace.” In an appearance on Italian national television, the Pope said that Mr. Trump’s deportation plan “is not the way to solve things.”
The host explained, “[Trump] will begin his program of expulsion of irregular immigrants from the United States.” The Pontiff stated that he hadn’t spoken with Trump since their last meeting at the Vatican in May 2017 and continued, “But if it’s true, this will be a disgrace because it makes these poor wretches, who have nothing, pay the price for the imbalance.”
He added: “This isn’t right. This is not the way to solve things.” A few days earlier, on January 9, Francis announced that migrants should not be treated as a “problem to be managed” but should be “welcomed” for their skills and aspirations. He added, “I find it greatly disheartening to see that migration is still shrouded in a dark cloud of mistrust rather than being seen as a source of empowerment.”
Watch the priest’s video here:
“People on the move are seen simply as a problem to be managed,” he insisted, adding that they should not be “treated like objects to be moved about.” Pope Francis argued that migrants “have dignity and resources that they can offer to others; they have their own experiences, needs, fears, aspirations, dreams, skills, and talents.” Francis says nations need to create “safe, regular pathways” for immigrants.
Featured image from embedded video.