Archbishop Garcia-Siller Excommunicates Texas Priest Who Called the Pope a Usurper

Father John Mary Foster, a priest of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, has been excommunicated and dismissed from the clerical state after being found guilty of "schism" by a tribunal of canon lawyers authorized by the Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller announced the decision on August 14, 2026, saying Foster committed an "offense against the faith" by refusing to submit to the pope, whom he publicly called a "usurper."

Foster was ordained in 1987 for the Congregation of St. John and in 2001 founded Mission of Divine Mercy, based in Canyon Lake, Texas. The organization has offered retreats and sacramental ministry and includes a lay branch called Amici Christi. In 2010, then-Archbishop of San Antonio Jose H. Gomez granted the mission the status of an approved Catholic apostolate.

The unauthorized prophetic messages

Mission of Divine Mercy currently has six members and is not a canonically erected religious community. Among its members is Sister Maria Amapola de Jesus, who has said she received messages from God and from Mary beginning in 2016. In March 2024, Garcia-Siller asked the group to refrain from publishing prophetic messages until they had been reviewed, saying they contained "numerous scandalous statements and false teachings."

In February 2024, the group began posting messages online without approval. A message dated March 6 and addressed to Catholic bishops said: "Not only have you let the smoke of Satan seep into My Sanctuary; but you have allowed an entire army of demons to occupy your places. And you have let the usurper sit in the chair of My Peter."

Continued disobedience and excommunication

After the first posting, Garcia-Siller met with Foster and asked him to remove the message from the group's website. The group did not comply and continued to publish others. In March 2024, the archbishop announced that he had withdrawn Foster's faculties for public ministry and suppressed the group's status as an apostolate. The group continued posting messages until at least July 2026.

In his August 14 letter, Garcia-Siller said Foster's excommunication was "latae sententiae," meaning he incurred it automatically through his own schismatic acts. "Despite having been offered countless opportunities to repent and cease his schismatic actions and teachings, Mr. Foster has chosen the path of disobedience," he said. The archbishop also said Foster intentionally omitted the name of Leo XIV from the Eucharistic Prayer, publicly manifesting his separation from the Church.

Instructions to the faithful

Garcia-Siller urged Catholics to guard their hearts and minds against those who seek to separate them from the Catholic Church. He forbade all Catholics from attending any Mass or liturgical activity celebrated by Foster or held at the suppressed group's location, warning that taking part would be a formal act of disobedience. He also asked the faithful not to support Foster or the mission financially, and to join in prayer for Foster "that he may repent and seek reconciliation with the Catholic Church."