The Diocese of Orihuela-Alicante has announced that Pope Leo XIV has decreed the expulsion of Alicante priest Francisco Jose Vegara Cerezo from the clerical state. The decision follows his repeated refusal to recognise and submit to the authority of the late Pope Francis and the current pontiff. The decree was adopted on 30th April and communicated to the individual on 20th June.
As a result of this resolution, Vegara Cerezo loses all rights inherent to the clerical state, is dispensed from the law of celibacy, and is no longer bound by other obligations linked to his condition as a cleric. Furthermore, he is strictly forbidden from exercising the sacred ministry, except under the exceptional circumstances provided for in the Code of Canon Law.
The case dates back to 2023, when the Diocese of Orihuela-Alicante initiated a dialogue with the priest due to his public rejection of Pope Francis’s authority, which had been openly and notoriously demonstrated through various media outlets.
In February 2024, the Bishop of Orihuela-Alicante, Jose Ignacio Munilla, removed the priest from any office or position within the Diocese. This measure was taken after Vegara Cerezo accused Pope Francis of being a “false pope” and questioned the validity of his election.
The Diocese stated that the priest was formally warned on 5th February 2024 and 5th April 2025 to abandon his stance and comply with the decreed precautionary measures. Subsequently, on 8 September 2025, the bishop issued a decree declaring that Vegara Cerezo was barred from exercising the ministry and prohibited him from making statements in the media.
Vegara Cerezo appealed against the bishop’s decree to the Dicastery for the Clergy. Additionally, following the publication of an article written by the priest, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith urged him to make a statement and retract his offence against the faith, which was categorised as a schism.
According to the Diocese, because he failed to provide a satisfactory response to this requirement, the Holy Father decreed his expulsion from the clerical state on 30th April, in accordance with Article 26 of the norms regarding offences reserved to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. This action represents the most severe canonical sanction available in this process, meaning he can no longer act as a priest or hold ecclesiastical office.
The controversy originally became public in 2024 when the priest shared a manifesto on social media platforms, claiming that Pope Francis had been invalidly elected and describing the late pontiff’s magisterium as “heretical, aberrant and scandalous”. The Diocese of Orihuela-Alicante emphasised that a process of dialogue and multiple warnings took place before this definitive resolution was reached by the Holy See.
