A Priest in San Antonio is laicized and excommunicated for willful disobedience and blatant disrespect

 

San Antonio priest laicized, excommunicated after calling Popes Francis and Leo ‘usurpers’

written by Simone Orendain 

In this file photo, Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio is seen during a march in El Paso March 24, 2025. In a letter dated Aug. 14, 2026, Archbishop García-Siller publicized the laicization of John Mary Foster, a former priest that has been found guilty of schism for refusing submission to the pope. The archbishop also warned Catholics not to follow Foster or support the Mission of Divine Mercy, a group Foster founded that involves sharing alleged prophetic messages. (OSV News photo/Bob Roller)

(OSV News) — A priest of the Archdiocese of San Antonio who was “found guilty of schism” has been removed from the clerical state and excommunicated, according to the archbishop of the archdiocese.

Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller announced Aug. 14 that a tribunal of canon lawyers authorized by the Vatican Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith found John Mary Foster guilty of “a crime against the faith for his refusal of submission to the Roman Pontiff.” 

In the letter announcing the April 20 sentence, the archbishop said, “Mr. Foster has chosen to reject the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church by his words and actions. He has publicly referred to Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV as ‘usurpers.'”

Foster was ordained a priest in 1987 for the Congregation of St. John, an international religious community based in France. In 2001, he founded an organization called Mission of Divine Mercy. Based in Canyon Lake, Texas, the group has offered retreats and sacramental ministry, with a lay branch called Amici Christi. In 2009, Foster was incardinated in the San Antonio diocese after ministering in Laredo, Texas.

Problematic alleged ‘messages’

In 2010, Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller’s predecessor, Archbishop José H. Gómez, who oversaw the San Antonio Archdiocese from 2005-2010 before taking leadership of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, granted the Mission of Divine Mercy the status of an approved Catholic apostolate. Foster was granted a special assignment to serve as its director. The apostolate, which claims six current members, was not a canonically erected religious community.

The Mission of Divine Mercy’s members include Sister Maria Amapola de Jesús, who claimed to receive messages from God and Mary beginning in 2016. Prior to the message’s first publication in 2024, Archbishop García-Siller said he had been supportive of the group’s efforts and had “enjoyed a positive relationship” with Foster and the Mission of Divine Mercy members.

In a March 2024 letter to the faithful, Archbishop García-Siller explained he had asked the group “to refrain from publishing any alleged prophetic message until they were reviewed to ensure they were not harmful to the people of God” because they “include many scandalous claims and false teachings.”

In February 2024, the group began publishing messages online without the archbishop’s approval. Archbishop García-Siller met with Foster after the first published message and requested that the group remove it from its website, but the group did not comply and proceeded to publish others. The archbishop’s March 2024 letter notified the archdiocese that he had removed Foster’s faculties for public ministry. He also suppressed the Mission of Divine Mercy’s apostolate status.

Refused obedience to bishop

The group continued to post alleged messages through at least July 2026. Foster said to Archbishop García-Siller in an email sent before a March 6, 2024 posting, “After prayerful discernment with our little community, we believe we are called to continue publishing the messages we believe God is giving us for the good of His Children. We deeply regret the pain that this will cause you, and how it will be perceived.  We are doing it out of a desire to obey God and serve His Church.”

The message posted March 6, 2024, was addressed to Catholic bishops and said, “You have not only let the smoke of Satan infiltrate into My Sanctuary; but you have allowed a whole army of demons to take your places. And you have allowed the usurper to sit on the chair of My Peter.”

In the Aug. 14, 2026, letter, Archbishop García-Siller noted that Foster’s excommunication was “latae sententiae,” meaning he automatically incurred it through his own schismatic acts.

“Despite being offered countless opportunities to repent and to cease his schismatic actions and teachings, Mr. Foster has chosen the path of disobedience. I have prohibited him from publicly celebrating Mass, yet he continues to do so,” the archbishop said.

When celebrating Mass, Foster “intentionally omits the name of Pope Leo XIV, as he did with Pope Francis, from the Eucharistic Prayer. In doing so, he publicly manifests his separation with the Church and the successor of Saint Peter,” the archbishop explained.

Faithful prohibited from association with group

Archbishop García-Siller addressed the faithful directly, saying, “In my fraternal care for you as your shepherd, I encourage you to guard your heart and mind against those who seek to separate you from the Catholic Church.”

He said he is prohibiting “all Catholics from attending any Mass or any liturgical activity or event” held by Foster or at the suppressed group’s location and warned the faithful that participating in such “is a formal act of disobedience.” 

The archbishop also urged the faithful not to financially support Foster or the Mission of Divine Mercy. He implored them to join him in praying for Foster, “that he will repent and seek reconciliation with the Roman Catholic Church and be able to once again receive the sacraments of the Church.”

Simone Orendain is an OSV News correspondent. She writes from Chicago.

Grief meets Faith in the flood waters of Texas

 

After the flood: Grief, faith and a community holding on in Texas

A man holds a cross during a prayer service for flood victims in Kerrville, Texas, July 9, 2025. (OSV News/Reuters/Umit Bektas)

by Camillo Barone

NCR staff reporter

San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller speaks July 5, 2025, on the flooding in Kerr County, Texas. (OSV News/ Screenshot via Catholic Television of San Antonio

On Sunday, July 6, two days after the floodwaters tore through Kerr County, Texas — while families were still searching for missing loved ones and the region's grief had barely begun to take shape — Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio stood before a shaken congregation in Kerrville's Notre Dame Catholic Church and installed their new pastor.

"Are you sure that you want the installation? We can move it," the archbishop had asked the newly assigned priest, Fr. Scott Janysek, just days before.

Janysek's response was simple. "I consulted with my people and my council, and that will be fine. But please, do it very low-key," he said.

And so just after the deadliest flooding in the region's recent history, the San Antonio Archdiocese quietly gave this grieving community a shepherd.

"It came as a powerful sign," García-Siller said, "of how God cares for his people ... because God, in time of crisis — not only for the Catholics in that community, in Notre Dame Parish, but in the city and the region — God was providing with a pastor, and God was providing for lay leaders, committing themselves in very dark times to be for the people."

It wasn't just a liturgical formality. That Sunday's Mass, with its baptisms and bare solemnity, became a defiant declaration of faith amid loss. Some in the pews had lost family members. Others still didn't know if their relatives were alive. 

"There were people there that lost families," García-Siller said, "people who didn't know what happened with relatives, friends, neighbors. It's just to see God's presence. We don't put that together. God does." 

Two days earlier, García-Siller had rushed to the heart of the flooded region, arriving in Kerr County under steady rain and heading straight to Notre Dame Parish closest to the disaster zone. The mood was grim and still.

"The environment was ... quiet," he said slowly, choosing each word. "You were able to sense the heaviness of the moment." He had entered the reunification center where survivors and family members waited, not for news, but for answers. Most hadn't yet heard if their loved ones had survived.

"There were people scared, an environment of uncertainty and already pain," he said. "But a pain that was not that concrete, because they really didn't know if their beloved ones were alive or not."

García-Siller described a cross-section of humanity: elderly grandparents waiting for word about grandchildren, seasonal workers missing friends and coworkers, neighbors helping young families whose parents were still unaccounted for. 

"One of them told me: 'Archbishop, I just want to be out of the way. I don't want to be an obstacle here.' Everyone tried to cooperate for this process to continue."

When officials began to share the names of survivors and victims, García-Siller saw something that struck him deeply.

"When they heard the name of the beloved one," he said, "they were not expressive, like, 'Wow, joy!' No, they were very modest. When they were encountering the beloved one is when they expressed themselves, not verbally. They were caressing one another, kissing each other, embracing one another."

Less than a week after the flash flooding swept through Central Texas, more than 120 people are confirmed dead and at least 160 remain missing, with Kerr County alone reporting 96 fatalities, including 36 children. As rescue crews continue searching through debris and flood zones, officials warn that hopes of finding survivors are fading.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vowed that the search will not stop "until every missing person is accounted for."

Meanwhile, forecasters warn that more rain could hit the already devastated Hill Country of Central and South Texas. The disaster has also extended beyond state lines, with at least three flood-related deaths reported in Ruidoso, New Mexico, a community that is still recovering from last year's wildfires. 

Beyond the confirmed casualties — vacationing families and local residents — García-Siller pointed to another layer of the disaster that is less visible and more difficult to quantify. "There were people that were going just for the Fourth of July," he said. "People who live in very modest little structures, and they work for those camps in cleaning, in cooking, people who helped the vacationers."

Many remain unaccounted for. Some may have been undocumented workers; others had no nearby family to report them missing, he said. "For the most part, we don't know much about them, and there are many reasons for it," García-Siller said. "It's delicate."

He added that all victims, identified or not, must remain in public concern. "No one should be out of our prayers," he said. "And if we serve people with material goods, it's to everyone and for everyone."

People take part in a vigil in memory of Texas flooding victims at Travis Park in San Antonio July 7, 2025. (OSV News/Reuters/Marco Bello)

Two of the youngest victims of the Guadalupe River flooding have been identified as Blair and Brooke Harber, sisters from the St. Rita Catholic Community in Dallas. The girls, rising sixth and eighth graders, were staying with their grandparents at a cabin in Kerr County when the floodwaters surged through. Their grandparents remain missing. The girls' parents, RJ and Annie Harber — a longtime faculty member at St. Rita — were in a nearby cabin and survived.

The St. Rita community remembered Blair and Brooke as bright, faith-filled students who were involved in school life, from sports and drama to student leadership. On the night of the flood, they had gone to the loft of their cabin to pray the rosary. When their bodies were recovered the next day, 15 miles downriver, they were found together.

"This tragedy has touched every corner of our hearts," the parish said in a statement, adding that it would continue to support the Harber family "with our prayers, compassion, and unwavering support."

Among the youngest dead are also young girls who were attending summer session at Camp Mystic, a private Christian camp in Kerr County that was directly in the path of the rising Guadalupe River. At least 27 campers and counselors died.

For many camp leaders, the loss of young lives struck close to home. "This has been a very sobering and sad week," said Gregg Hunter, president and CEO of the Christian Camp and Conference Association, which serves nearly 850 faith-based camps and retreat centers nationwide, including The Pines Catholic Camp in Texas. "Our members are so aware of and sensitive and grieving, along with those who have lost children. It's not a far leap for them to imagine themselves in the same position." 

Damaged items lie inside of a cabin at Camp Mystic in Kerr County, Texas, July 7, 2025, in the aftermath of deadly flooding. (OSV News/Reuters/Sergio Flores)

Though Camp Mystic is not part of Hunter's network, he said the event has prompted camps nationwide to revisit their own emergency procedures. 

"What I know beyond a doubt is that this type of event causes leaders to take one more look at what they have in place," he said. "They're asking their teams, 'Do we have everything in place that we need to? What if that happened to us?' "

Hunter said many Texas camps were caught off guard by the severity of the flooding. "There were some indications that storms were coming," he said, "but it turned out to be a perfect storm that brought the levels of rainfall that are unprecedented to them."

Despite the heartbreak, while reassuring of the safety of emergency protocols of American camps, Hunter emphasized the continued importance of faith-based camping. "Kids need a camping experience these days," he said. "To unplug from devices, to be in nature and close to God, where they can be inspired and hear from him what the picture of the rest of their life looks like."

"I'm grateful for the Catholic camp leaders who are serving kids this week, who are grieving themselves about the loss at Camp Mystic. And I am thankful for Catholic Charities and their long-standing commitment to meet community needs. I'm sure the communities in Kerr County will be relying on their resources for recovery efforts," Hunter said.

An image of Our Lady of Guadalupe sits next to fallen trees near the Guadalupe River in Hunt, Texas, July 9, 2025, in the aftermath of catastrophic flooding. (OSV News/Reuters/Umit Bektas)

At the July 6 Mass at Notre Dame Church, where many in the congregation were still awaiting news about missing loved ones, the archbishop described the contrast of a baptismal ritual centered on water taking place just miles from where floodwaters had caused extensive destruction and death. "The baptism is about the water and the Spirit," he said. "And it is about life and death."

When the congregation responded to the Psalm — "Praise God with joy" — he noted the weight of the moment. "They were praising. In the midst of pain, death, sorrow."

When asked about reports of a delayed flood alert — a window of several hours when no emergency warning was issued, according to a Texas Tribune investigation — García-Siller said he could not speak to the specifics.

"I'm not the expert in those matters," he said. "But I, personally, as a pastor, accompany people. That's what God is asking me to do, to accompany and to be with them."

He suggested such discussions could be addressed at a later time, cautioning against politicizing the tragedy during the early stages of recovery. "It's a distraction and will just cause feelings that they don't need to add to their horrible picture."

San Antonio Archbishop prays for the flood victims as Catholic Charities ramps up assistance

 

An American flag sits atop a pile of debris on the banks of the Guadalupe River in Kerrville, Texas  (2025 Getty Images)

World

• United States
• Pope Leo XIV
• bishops
• prayer
• solidarity
• charitable organizations

San Antonio Archbishop prays for families of flood victims as death toll rises

As the death toll from floods in central Texas rises to 82, Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio visits a Catholic church offering care and assistance to those affected.

By James Blears & Devin Watkins

Eighty-two people are confirmed dead in the flooding disaster in the city of Kerrville, and forty-one others remain missing.

So far, the death toll in the Kerr County tragedy in the US state of Texas includes twenty-eight children and is expected to rise because people are still missing. Ten of those are from a Christian Girls Camp, along with their counsellor.

The tragedy occurred on Friday, July 4, when the Guadalupe River, swollen by massive downpours rose an unprecedented eight meters in just forty-five minutes, burst its banks and engulfed the sleeping campers and Independence Day vacationers in mobile homes, which were swept away.

Weather forecasters are warning more storms are expected during the next thirty-six hours.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott says a full-scale search-and-rescue operation will not stop until every person affected is located and accounted for.

US President Donald Trump has signed legislation enabling the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reinforce the rescue efforts.

On Sunday, Pope Leo XIV prayed for the victims and their families at the Sunday Angelus address.

“I would like to express sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones, in particular their daughters who were at summer camp in the disaster caused by the flooding of the Guadalupe River, in Texas, in the United States. We pray for them,” he said.

Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller, Archbishop of San Antonio, visited Kerrville the day of the disaster, offering prayers and support.

He met with families at the Notre Dame Catholic Church, one of four sites that the city has designated as centers for refuge, care, and assistance.

Speaking to OSV News, the Archbishop said Catholic Charities—the US affiliate of Caritas Internationalis—was providing food, clothes, hygiene articles, water, and a place to sleep for people who have been evacuated or lost their homes.

“A lot of young parents were there, very young and they were coming from different places too,” he said. “This is not an issue just for the San Antonio Archdiocese, which is part of it, but no, there were people from Houston, from Austin, from other states.”

Archdiocese of San Antonio offers prayers and help in light of devastating flooding in the Texas Hill Country

  Statement from Archdiocese of San Antonio regarding devastating flooding in Hill Country

• Archdiocese of San Antonio
• July 4, 2025

The Archdiocese of San Antonio requests prayers for all those affected by the historic flooding which is occurring in the Hill Country this July 4. We pray especially for those who have died as well as those who are still missing. As the archdiocese mourns together, many are coming forward, including archdiocesan entities and organizations, to assist in relief efforts, as well as the first responders who continue to help the numerous victims of this horrific event.

At this time it is unknown how many have been affected by rising water levels along rivers and creeks. It is our prayer that those impacted by the floods will find the strength to rebuild. We pledge to be with the people in these challenging circumstances. Let us answer Christ’s call to love one another.

Currently, Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller and Bishop Michael Boulette are in Kerrville. Also, Notre Dame Church there has opened its gym at 929 Main Street to any evacuees seeking shelter from the flooding. In addition, the Catholic Charities Mobile Relief Unit and CEO J. Antonio Fernandez have arrived at Notre Dame to provide food, clothing, hygiene products and water to those in need. More updates will be provided when there is additional information.

Priest and Retreat Center restricted, suppressed, shut-down over extreme disobedience

 

San Antonio archbishop bans retreat center for ‘false teachings’ against Pope Francis

Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller, MSpS, of San Antonio. | Credit: Veronicamarkland, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

By Peter Pinedo

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 18, 2024 / 18:00 pm

San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller has restricted a local priest and a ministry known as the Mission of Divine Mercy (MDM) for disobedience and for spreading “false teachings,” presented as prophecies, against Pope Francis. 

The apostolate and priest who was sanctioned, meanwhile, are defying the archbishop’s disciplinary measures and have held at least one unsanctioned Mass. 

Garcia-Siller’s disciplinary action follows MDM’s publication of several messages on its website in which the group claimed “God the Father” told one of its members that the pope is a “usurper” and an “enemy of the Church.” 

In response, García-Siller said in a March 15 statement that the group’s “status as a Catholic apostolate of the Archdiocese of San Antonio has been suppressed and revoked by official decree.”

According to the archbishop’s statement, MDM’s founder, Father John Mary Foster, refused to remove the messages from the group’s website despite repeated admonitions, thus breaking his vow of obedience and necessitating that he be barred from publicly practicing his priestly faculties.

Despite the archbishop’s ban, a representative for MDM told CNA that the apostolate plans to continue operating and that Foster celebrated Mass on Sunday.

What did the ‘prophetic messages’ say?

Based in New Braunfels, a town in the Texas Hill Country, MDM has operated as an approved Catholic retreat house and ministry devoted to promoting prayer and contemplating God’s will since 2010. According to García-Siller, the ministry has enjoyed good relations with the archdiocese until now.

Then in February, MDM began posting a series of supposed “prophetic messages” conveyed by “God the Father” to a member of the ministry, identified as “Sister Amapola.”

MDM claimed in one of its website statements that God had a message for priests in which he said: “You have not only let the smoke of Satan infiltrate into My Sanctuary; but you have allowed a whole army of demons to take your places. And you have allowed the usurper to sit on the chair of My Peter — he who is carrying out the Great Treason that will leave My Church desolate.” 

Several other similar messages were posted to the apostolate’s website claiming that the Church was filled with “demons” and “imposters.” 

Foster endorsed the messages, saying in a video that the Church is facing an “extreme crisis,” which he said justifies his disobedience to the archbishop. He pointed to the controversial Vatican document Fiducia Supplicans, which approved blessings for same-sex couples, as an example of “confusion and harm” being sown by Francis.

“From this statement and others of a similar nature that we’ve received, the terrible conclusion seems clear: Bergoglio [Pope Francis] is exercising illegitimate authority and acting as the enemy of Christ and his Church,” Foster said. “Given this extreme crisis, we are obeying God in publishing these messages, even without our archbishop’s permission.”

Archbishop bans MDM

García-Siller issued three official decrees on March 15, barring MDM as an apostolate, removing Foster as the group’s leader, and barring Foster from exercising priestly faculties.

“Whereas the activities of the Reverend FOSTER and the Mission of Divine Mercy have led to confusion and division and have caused grave scandal to the faithful … I WITHDRAW my approval of the ‘Mission of Divine Mercy’ as a Catholic apostolate,” one decree reads.

In so doing, the archbishop restricted the Christian faithful from associating with MDM and ordered that the apostolate not “use the name Catholic or call themselves a Catholic association.”

The archbishop further prohibited Foster from publicly exercising his priestly ministry on MDM grounds and ordered him to enter a “time of spiritual retreat” for six months. The decree said that if Foster violated the prohibition, he could face a total ban on publicly exercising his priestly ministry in the archdiocese.

The archdiocese declined to comment further on the matter, directing CNA to the archbishop’s decrees and statement.

According to the decrees, Foster and MDM have 10 days to appeal the archbishop’s decision.

MDM continues to defy archbishop

Emily Jebbia, a representative for MDM, told CNA that despite the archbishop’s ban, Foster celebrated Mass at the New Braunfels retreat center on Sunday. According to Jebbia, the Mass was attended by about 450 people, which she said is more than double the amount at a normal Sunday service. 

Jordan McMorrough, a representative for the archdiocese, confirmed with CNA that the Mass was in violation of the bishop’s decree. 

Jebbia said that though MDM has yet to confer with canon lawyers since the archbishop’s decree, apostolate staff plan to continue their ministry.

Jebbia said that MDM has previously had a “cordial” relationship with García-Siller and that they take the archbishop’s statement seriously. Nevertheless, she said that “given that we think this is an unprecedented situation in the Church, we have to act in an unprecedented way in obedience to what we believe God has asked us to do.”

Asked if MDM hopes to reconcile with the archbishop, Jebbia said “yes,” but she qualified her response by saying: “We hope that the [arch]bishop will be open to what is happening here at the mission.”

Texas Bishop reacts to migrant mistreatment

 

Texas bishops blast reports of denying migrants water, pushing them into the Rio Grande

By John Lavenburg

Jul 21, 2023

NEW YORK – In response to reports that troopers at the U.S.-Mexico border were told to push migrants back into the Rio Grande and to deny them drinking water, Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio has admonished that anyone “who denies water to the thirsty is corrupted and a killer.”

“Beautiful America, depriving people [of] water during this waving heat season. There is not anything beautiful about it,” García-Siller said in a July 18 statement. “People are dying of thirst. Jesus taught to give even a glass of water to the thirsty. Jesus keeps calling us to change our hearts and love PEOPLE. Please!”

Two days later, on July 20, García-Siller and the 21 other Texas bishops came together to denounce the actions that have been alleged, saying media reports “present a disturbing account of horrific tragedies occurring along the Rio Grande on the Texas/Mexico border.”

“These reports stir our hearts again for the plight of our sisters and brothers who are seeking a better life,” the bishops said in a statement through the Texas Conference of Catholic Bishops. “These mothers, fathers, children, and others are doing what anyone would do to find a better life. They have moved to secure honest work and a safe community.”

“The fact that they were born in a place which could provide these basic human rights does not give anyone the right to treat them inhumanely,” the bishops added.

The allegations, first reported by the Houston Chronicle, come at a time when Texas Governor Greg Abbott has taken it upon himself to attempt to secure the U.S.-Mexico border from illegal entries, as he has long spoken out about the challenges the nation’s migrant surge has posed border cities and the way the federal government has inadequately responded to the crisis.

Abbott’s administration has now set up river buoys along the Rio Grande and razor wire along the adjacent land in an attempt to repel migrant crossings. An internal message a state trooper recently shared with the Houston Chronicle led to the reports that troopers were told to push migrants back into the Rio Grande and to deny them drinking water – claims the Texas Department of Public Safety have denied.

Abbott and Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw said in a joint statement on July 18 that “no orders or directions have been given under Operation Lone Star that would compromise the lives of those attempting to cross to the border illegally.”

“All personnel assigned to Operation Lone Star are prepared to detect and respond to any individuals who may need water or medical attention,” the statement reads. “Operation Lone Star agency partners use verbal warnings and signage to direct migrants attempting to illegally cross from Mexico into Texas to use ports of entry to protect the lives of migrants, DPS troopers, and Texas National Guard soldiers.”

The officials added that “until President Biden reverses his open border policies and does his job to secure the border, Texas will continue protecting Texans and Americans from the chaos along the border.”

The Texas Department of Public Safety did not immediately respond to a Crux request for comment, and Abbott’s office declined to comment, citing the July 18 statement.

The White House weighed in on the reports on July 18, as well. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre acknowledged that the White House hasn’t verified the reports, but noted if they are true “it is abhorrent, it is despicable, it is dangerous.”

The Texas bishops, however, didn’t levy all of the blame for the present situation on the state. They put the onus on the federal government for decades of failures when it comes to migration policy, saying “they have failed to uphold our country’s principle to welcome all who seek a life free of tyranny.”

“We have a responsibility, as a faithful citizen, to work with our government officials to ensure the dignity of all, an ideal enshrined on the Statue of Liberty,” the bishops said. “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

The bishops also asked the faithful to join them in their humanitarian efforts along the border, and asked for prayers “for our brothers and sisters experiencing the harsh realities of this journey, and for all who encounter them.”