Dear Father Angelo

I’m … and I’m from …, I’ve been married to my only wife since 1973 and we have had 7 children, 4 daughters and 3 sons.

My wife hasn’t attended Church for about 3 years. She follows a priest from Palermo, who has been excommunicated and reduced to the lay state.

This priest claims that Pope Francis is not the Pope and belongs to Satan’s church and adds that the Mass celebrated una cum with the Pope is not valid, as well as the consecration and all the other sacraments.

My wife doesn’t go to confession any more, she only attends this priest’s meetings when they take place in …, and she also follows his catechesis on his YouTube channel, during which he rages at Pope Francis.

Now dear Father, with this being said, my children and I are worried and we want to know if my wife, too, has incurred automatic excommunication.

Kindly waiting to hear from you, we thank you in advance.

The priest’s answer

Dear friend,

  1. I’m sorry for your wife, who has fallen into Satan’s trap.

Satan’s trap consists in making one believe they are in the truth while gravely failing in charity.

  1. Yet your wife is neither in the truth nor in charity.

She’s not in the truth because it’s not necessary to be una cum for the Eucharist to be valid.

The Orthodox Christians are not in communion with the Roman Pontiff, nor do they acknowledge him.

Some of them even say he is one of Satan’s emissaries.

Nevertheless their Eucharist is valid. So much so that in case of need, a Catholic can access to Eucharist celebrated by a priest who is not at all in communion with the Pope and can also be absolved by him.

  1. This means that the priest, or rather the priest reduced to the lay state you are talking about, is ill-equipped to deal with theology.

Unfortunately some people, even more lacking than him, follow him.

  1. What’s really sad is that your wife neglected charity, which is the indispensable condition to go to heaven. 

We mustn’t forget what it is said in the Holy Scripture: ”If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing”  (1 Cor 13,1-2).

In his commentary to the first Epistle to the Corinthians, St.Thomas says: “I am nothing, according to the order of grace. This occurs on account of a lack of charity by virtue of which man makes good use of a perfect intellect. But without charity its use cannot be good”.

  1. Moreover, regarding charity the Scripture says that “love is patient, love is kind”

(1 Cor 13,4).

Then later it says that: “it is not rude”, “it is not quick-tempered” (1 Cor 13,5).

It also ends by saying that love “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things”. (1 Cor 13,8).

  1. Jesus said: “By their fruits you will know them” (Matt 7,20).

In the movement created by that priest, who is excommunicated and reduced to the lay state, the fruits are unfortunately more than obvious: they are all against charity.

  1. About these bitter fruits the Holy Scripture says: “We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. Whoever does not love remains in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him”. (1 John 3,14-15).

One cannot stand as a champion of truth (aside from the fact that in this case everything is totally wrong) when charity is missing.

  1. I’m very sorry for your wife and all those who have chosen to neglect confession and not to go to Mass in order to follow an excommunicated priest. By acting in this way, they excommunicated themselves. They have separated and put themselves out.

Unfortunately “a veil lies over their hearts”  (2 Cor 3,15).

It is the veil of blindness they allowed Satan to put around their minds.

They have allowed it since the moment they lost charity.

It is necessary to pray and do penance because this kind of demon can be cast out only by doing this way. (Matt 17,21).

Joined with you in charity and wishing your wife’s return to the table of charity,

I bless you and remember you in my prayers.

Father Angelo

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