Pope Francis excommunicates schismatic Italian sect

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A group called the “Universal Christian Church of the New Jerusalem,” located in Italy and based on alleged apparitions of the child Jesus, has long been at odds with the local Catholic leadership, and now it’s been formally excommunicated for spreading “false religious doctrines and teachings that distort the Bible.”

An Italian sect centered on the worship of an alleged apparition of the Child Jesus which is gathered around the son-in-law of the seer has been found guilty of schism and received a ‘latae sententiae’ excommunication.

The news was communicated in a June 5 statement from the Diocese of Sora-Cassino-Aquino-Pontecorvo, where the sect is based. Issuing the decree required the approval of the pope.

The group, the Universal Christian Church of the New Jerusalem, is based in Gallinaro, a town of central Italy located 15 miles southeast of Sora. There, Giuseppina Norcia reportedly saw an apparition of the child Jesus in 1947. This was followed by subsequent apparitions in 1974, and her family built a chapel on the site the following year.
The June 5 statement from the Sora diocese stated that “the group called the ‘Child Jesus of Gallinaro’ or ‘New Jerusalem’ is committed to spreading false religious doctrines and teachings that distort the Bible and are outside the truth of the sacred text.”

cruxnow.com/global-church/2016/06/08/pope-francis-excommunicates-schismatic-italian-sect/
 
So pretty much, Pope Francis just issued a decree stating that the group’s actions were in and of themselves an act of schism, and thus had excommunicated themselves.
 
Very intereesting. Pray for their return to the unity of the Church.

Benedicat Deus,
Latinitas
 
Having seen no actual document, and wondering why the CDF and/or Pope himself would have been involved, it seems that this was a statement similar to the one issued years ago by Bishop Bruskewitz in Nebraska: “membership” in this movement results in an automatic excommunication.

Dan
 
dans0622 said:
Having seen no actual document, and wondering why the CDF and/or Pope himself would have been involved, it seems that this was a statement similar to the one issued years ago by Bishop Bruskewitz in Nebraska: “membership” in this movement results in an automatic excommunication.

Dan
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I would assume “excommunication” is a discipline only applied to individuals, not to organizations. An organization might be declared to be scismatic, but it can’t go to Confession to get the discipline ameliorated. So the headline is misleading.

Still, it is hard to see how this would be applied. Some people are in leadership; maybe others stop in now and then. Presumably individuals involved prior to the sanction are not excommunicated, as long as they cease involvement. The excommunication only applies to those who become aware of the status of the organization.
 
commenter said:
I would assume “excommunication” is a discipline only applied to individuals, not to organizations. …
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Certainly true.
commenter said:
Still, it is hard to see how this would be applied. Some people are in leadership; maybe others stop in now and then. Presumably individuals involved prior to the sanction are not excommunicated, as long as they cease involvement. The excommunication only applies to those who become aware of the status of the organization.
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Application: we’d have to see the actual language of the law to see how it describes the criminal act: is it mere attendance at this sect’s events, signing up as a “member”, or what? I don’t know.

Penal laws are never retroactive (as far as imposing penalties, anyway) so you are correct: it only applies going forward. At the same time, the underlying rationale of the penalty (schism) has been part of the law for many years. People who have been involved in this movement may have committed that crime (or heresy).

And, yes, as with any “automatic” penalty, it does not apply when the person is unaware of the penalty.

Dan
 
’The declared enemies of God and His Church, heretics and schismatics, must be criticized as much as possible, as long as truth is not denied. It is a work of charity to shout: “Here is the wolf!” when it enters the flock or anywhere else.'

~ St. Francis de Sales
 
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