I am a bit confused about the details after reading this news piece. The main point, however, that Simon Caldwell makes in the Daily Mail article is that the pope “signed off” on the defrocking of Father Tomislav Vladic back in March. I am unsure whether or not that decree was sent to the priest or just held for a future action, because yesterday it was made public that Vladic announced (I assume from the monastery in Italy where he was banished after his suspensio a divinis) that he has left the active priesthood and his order. The pope’s action was apparently first made public in the Daily Mail, and certainly will show up in L ‘Osservatore Romano soon. When a priest is “defrocked” it means that he is forbidden to exercise his priesthood in any way, even non-sacramentally by preaching. The character of the sacrament of holy orders is indelible as is baptism and confirmation. So, “defrocking” or “laicization” does not undo the sacrament of his priesthood, but the licitness of its exercise.
CNA reports: Simon Caldwell, the ever reliable reporter for the “Daily Mail” and the “UK Catholic Herald” reports that Father Tomislav Vladic, the priest most identified with the purported apparitions of Mary at Medjugorje, has been reduced to the lay state. Read full article here.
