Priest defiant after being excommunicated for calling Pope Francis 'usurper,' 'Jesuit Freemason'
Father Ramon Guidetti said he intends to frame excommunication decree, hang on wall
A Roman Catholic priest in Italy is defiant after his bishop excommunicated him for delivering a homily on New Year's Eve proclaiming Pope Francis as an "antipope usurper."
Father Ramon Guidetti, 48, of the Diocese of Livorno in Tuscany, marked the one-year anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI's death by claiming that his successor is "a Jesuit Freemason," which prompted applause from his congregation at his Church of San Ranieri in Guasticce, according to The Pillar.
During his homily, Guidetti referenced reports of lightning striking a statue of St. Peter on Dec. 17 at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of St. Nicolás in the pope's home province of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Earlier this week, a local journalist confirmed the unusual lightning strike to CatholicVote.org, noting that the bolt obliterated both the statue's halo and the keys in its hand, despite the shrine's many lightning rods.
The outlet said it "confirmed that the lightning episode has sparked concern and speculation in San Nicolás and Buenos Aires, especially since the shrine was turning 40 years old and many thought of 2023 as an emblematic year."
Dec. 17 was Pope Francis' 87th birthday and one day before the Vatican released "Fiducia supplicans," which has caused an eruption of controversy among Catholic prelates worldwide for allowing "spontaneous pastoral blessing" for "same-sex couples" and other couples in "irregular situations." The guidance noted that the blessing is not akin to marriage and that such relationships are still sinful.
“And what did [the lightning] go on to incinerate?" Guidetti asked during his homily. "The halo and the keys. The halo because Peter is no longer holy, because there is a Jesuit Freemason linked to world powers, an antipope usurper. And the keys because the good Benedict kept those."
Guidetti went on to claim that Pope Francis has not been the legitimate pope for the past decade, according to Catholic News Agency.
On Jan. 1, a day after Guidetti's homily, Bishop Simone Giusti slapped the priest with a decree of excommunication, accusing him of violating canon 751 of the Code of Canon Law, which prohibits schism as defined by "the refusal of submission to the Supreme Pontiff or of communion with the members of the [Catholic] Church subject to him."
Giusti claimed the priest "publicly committed a schismatic act" during the Mass on Dec. 31 and was therefore automatically excommunicated. His punishment bars him from performing any ministerial office or receiving the sacraments.
"The priests and faithful are admonished not to participate in any of his celebrations or other worship practices, as they would ipso facto [by that very fact] incur the very serious penalty of excommunication," the diocese said.
Guidetti has taken his excommunication in stride, telling Radio Domina Nostra host Alessandro Minutella on Tuesday that he intends to frame the decree and hang it on his wall.
"The Church should be maternal, in reality it is a tyrant," he told the Catholic outlet.
Bishop Giusti told local Italian media that Guidetti had been warned previously not to exhibit a schismatic attitude, but noted that the priest had already packed his bags, given his keys to a woman in the parish, and left before the decree of excommunication was handed down.
Jon Brown is a reporter for The Christian Post. Send news tips to jon.brown@christianpost.com
