The Pontifical Commission appointed by Pope Francis to manage the property and pay the debts of the former nuns of Belorado entails expenses for the Archbishopric of Burgos of 21,881.67 euros on average and the accounts have income of 8,239.44 euros from pensions and leases, which leaves a monthly deficit. of 13,642 euros.
This amount includes the expenses of former nuns, which are paid monthly to Mgr Mario Iceta, pontifical administrator of the convents of Belorado, Derio and Orduña. These include workers’ salaries, electricity, water, telephone and three outstanding loans.
In a statement from the archdiocese, the Archdiocesan Information Office indicated that in September the Pontifical Commission paid 1,988.44 euros for electricity; 2,630.82 euros for gas consumption and 72.00 for the telephone.
Concerning salaries, the Pontifical Commission paid four for an amount of 3,179 euros and also took charge of the payment of 12,115.70 euros for the service of three mortgages which total a bank debt of 760,000 euros.
For his part, Former nuns accuse Iceta of “economic asphyxiation” and they specifically accused the archbishop of not paying his social security contributions, supplier invoices, internet and mobile expenses, monastery insurance policies, courier service, maintenance of workshop machines , tax and work advice, insurance and car rental.
Concerning the social security contributions of former nuns, the Archdiocese clarified that from the moment the excommunication and consequent expulsion from religious life were pronounced, “their classification, nor their imposition, as autonomous members of the Special Scheme for Self-Employed Workers.
In another press release published by the former nuns, they assure that five former nuns receive a total of seven pensions (including retirement and the orphanage) and among them, five continue to be paid “into accounts controlled by the archbishop, whose amount, therefore, “It does not reach the beneficiaries and is not intended for their subsistence or to meet their personal needs”, they denounced.
In the accounts managed by the Archdiocese, there are several incomes which come from the pensions of senior nuns, 5,179.44 euros. And money from the rental of a property in the Derio Monastery for which 3,060 euros were paid in October.
As explained, all this translates into an average of 8,239.44 euros in monthly income. The negative difference of 13,642 euros is assumed by the Pontifical Commission. In these income The sales of liturgical ornaments that the former nuns made through Wallapop and Todocolección do not appear. “the sum of which was deposited into an account belonging to a close relative of a former nun.”
Added to this is another deposit made into another account which was not remitted to the Archbishopric, an amount resulting from an annex to the lease contract with third parties concluded in July 2024 by the former abbess for certain premises of the Derio monastery.
In their declaration, the former nuns emphasize that the Pontifical Commissioner does not present “the obligatory tax declarations on time” and they argue this doubt in the sense that they were informed of an embargo by the Treasury on the pension of a sister “for non-payment of the tax “corresponding to the personal income tax for the year 2023” when these non-payments do not correspond to the period during which Monsignor Iceta assumed the responsibility which occurs in from June 5, 2024.
In fact, they add, the Management Commission was only aware of an embargo from the Tax Agency in August 2024 for an amount of 1,362.73 euros, linked to the lack of payment of the personal income tax corresponding to the first quarter of 2024, that it would have been necessary to liquidate the former nuns, reports Ep.
The exchange of statements between the archdiocese and the former nuns ends with an announcement from the Breton nuns to internationalize the debate on the schism with the help of the international press. This week, the Brazilian Rodrigo Henrique Ribeiro da Silva moved into non-cloistered premises at the convent. circumstance which caused the departure of the Argentinian Sergio Casas, who is no longer at the convent. The archdiocese denounced the presence in the monastery of people, some dressed in ecclesiastical costumes, “who lack legal title and authorization to stay on its premises.”
