Canonical commentary by Br. Alexis Bugnolo
Don Natale Santonocito, a priest of the suburbican diocese of Palestrina, was excommunicated yesterday by Msgr. Mauro Parmeggiani (yes, the same name as the cheese*), the Bishop of Palestrina-Tivoli, who declared an excommunication in virtue of canon 1364 for “heretical and schismatic” teachings.
The official Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Italy newspaper, L’Avvenire, says in the article above, that the priest was given an opportunity of legal defense with a lawyer assigned to him, ex officio. — In previous public statements, Don Santonocito said he would not oppose the extra-juridical process (a canonical process undertaken by a superior without the presence of a tribunal) because he did not recognize the appointment of Msgr. Parmeggiani as valid, it having been made by Pope Francis and not Pope Benedict XVI.
Father Santonocito holds that the Apostolic See is vacant after the death of Benedict and that Pope Francis by reason of his manifest heresy is ipso facto excommunicated and thus not the pope.
The excommunication was declared not imposed, since the announcement of the Diocesan Chancery cites canon 1364’s provision for latae sententiae excommunication.
This excommunication is null and void, in my opinion, for its error in ascribing Don Santonocito’s views to a crime punishable under canon 1364 for “heresy” or “schism”, since holding that a papal renunciation was invalid, when it was invalid, and hence that a conclave was invalid when it was invalid, are neither heretical nor schismatic acts, punishable by the Code of Canon Law. Don Santonocito has made clear in his many videos that he refuses communion with those he holds to be in manifest heresy (Pope Francis etc.) and thus cannot be held to be either a heretic or schismatic by intention. And without the intention to violate Canon 1364, a person cannot be punished.
The notice in the above news article tries to make it appear that Don Santonocito was sufficiently and duly notified of his errors and given a chance to retract them, but it is clear that Bishop Parmeggiani proceeded with a very shallow and incorrect view of the precise position of Don Santonocito.
Bishop Parmeggiani cannot, in my view, be excused of gravely violating the rights an good name of Don Natale Santonocito, because he has already received dozens if not hundreds of petitions to convoke a Provincial Council to hear the charges that Jorge Mario Bergoglio does not hold a valid claim to the Apostolic Throne. This makes Bishop Parmeggiani legally presumed to be in a state of bad will, precisely because he should have referred the case of Don Natale Santonocito to the Provincial Council, since what Don Natale is saying directly pertains to the charges in the Sutri Initiative. Bad will must also be presumed because the charges of heresy and schism to not apply to Don Natale Santonocito’s publicly affirmed positions.
By proceeding against Don Santonocito himself, and without bringing the matter before his diocesan tribunal, where the judges are supposed to be both learned in ecclesiastical jurisprudence and impartial, the Bishop has furthermore shown prejudice of aforethought against Don Santonocito.
In fact, I do not believe jurists trained in ecclesiastical right would have held Don Natale’s statements configurable under the delicts of heresy or schism, since all the classical sources of ecclesiastical right, expressly say such disagreements of opinion about papal elections and abdications are not such delicts.
Finally, the malice of Msgr. Parmeggiani is made most evident by the terms of his penal decree against Don Natale, which forbids him “to receive the Sacraments”. That blanket statement means that poor Don Natale, even if penitent, cannot go to confession again for the rest of his life. How is this in any way pastoral? Nay, it is clear that his bishop has an ideological-political motivation contrary to the entire Catholic Faith. — Even Heretics and Schismatics are allowed to receive the Sacrament of Penance, as this is the required means for them to be received back into the Church.
In short, Don Natale’s Bishop has shut the door in his face and nailed it shut. And for what?
Msgr. Mauro Parmeggiani is the first Bishop in the Roman Province to take public action which shows that he is an adherent to the heresies, blasphemies and apostasies of Jorge Mario Bergoglio. There are 14 other such Bishops in the province who have also been petitioned.
Supporters of the Sutri Initiative or of Don Santonocito can now appeal to the other 14 bishops and demand an immediate convocation of the Provincial Council to address the grave crimes committed against Don Santonocito and his serious allegations against Pope Francis. This is the true Catholic and juridical approach, it is also the true Synodal approach the Church has always used in the past in such grave matters pertaining to the Apostolic See, impeded by dubious claims of pretenders to the Throne of Saint Peter.
Don Santonocito’s own errors lie in thinking that just because he can discern manifest heresy in another person or superior, that that person is not a member of the Church nor holds an office. But this contradicts canon 194 §2, which says the loss of office for those who abandon the Catholic Faith does not take effect without the decree of the same competent authority which declared the heretical depravity. And this is precisely the reason for the necessity of the Sutri Initiative.
Needless to say, Catholics everywhere should be disappointed that superiors in the Church are acting in this manner. There seems to be a deep and habitual incapacity of so many of the clergy to confront the reality of their own actions and to follow the rules of their own Church. There also seems to be a total lack of fraternal interventions by fellow Clergy and Bishops to prevent mutual violations of ecclesiastical right. — Let us pray for our Bishops and our Priests, and let us do whatever we can to encourage them to be more respectful of one another for the sake of the weak who will be harmed by the scandals, like this, which erupt weekly.
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* The famous Italian cheese from Parma, Parmigiano, is the Italian standard for grating cheese over pasta, or eating cheese with green melons and cantaloupes. It’s name refers to the City from which it comes, that is the cheese of Parma, just as the surname of the Bishop means, those men from Parma. Parma is one of the principle cities of the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, in Northern Italy. It’s more famous sister city is Bologna: and yes, that is where bologna, the cold-cut, originates.
