An Italian priest has been excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church after publicly refusing to recognize the authority of Pope Francis and calling him the “antipope.” Father Natale Santonocito, 61, was barred from receiving or administering sacraments and participating in liturgical rites by Mauro Parmeggiani, the bishop of Tivoli and Palestrina. Santonocito, the parish priest of San Cesareo Church near Rome, had made several videos on social media declaring that Pope Francis was never legitimately elected as pope, claiming that the papacy was never truly renounced by Pope Benedict XVI when he resigned in 2013.
The sanction against Santonocito is part of a wider pattern of clerical dissent in Italy, with the priest believed to be the fifth in the past year to face penalties for rejecting Pope Francis’s authority. This phenomenon, called “benevacantism,” is rooted in the belief that Benedict XVI never validly renounced the papacy. Other hardline factions, known as sedevacantists, argue that the papacy has been vacant since the reforms of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s.
Santonocito’s excommunication comes after a series of public statements, including a video posted on December 8, where he insisted that Pope Francis is an “antipope” who has occupied the papacy for the past 11 years. Despite being reprimanded by Bishop Parmeggiani, Santonocito continued to publicly advocate his controversial views.
Other clergy members have similarly denounced Pope Francis’s legitimacy. Father Ramon Guidetti was excommunicated last year after calling Pope Francis a “masonic Jesuit” and an “antipope.” Former Vatican ambassador Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano was also excommunicated in July for his opposition to the pope’s progressive policies, accusing Francis of straying from traditional Catholic doctrine.
While some critics of Pope Francis’s papacy garner media attention, Vatican specialist Sandro Magister dismissed these figures as marginalized and irrelevant. He emphasized that while there is growing disquiet among some Catholics over the pope’s leadership style, it does not follow a clear political line or represent a unified movement.
The ongoing tension between Pope Francis and hardline conservatives, especially in the United States, could intensify amid political shifts. President Donald Trump’s recent appointment of Brian Burch, a prominent papal critic, as his ambassador to the Vatican signals continued divisions within the Church. Meanwhile, Pope Francis’s appointment of Cardinal Robert McElroy, known for his advocacy of immigrants and LGBTQ rights, as Archbishop of Washington underscores the ideological rift between the papacy and certain conservative factions.
