Pope Francis dismisses Fernando Maria Cornet from the clerical state, at this point former parish priest of the churches of San Donato and San Sisto in Sassari . And he does so with a communication in which he speaks of a "supreme and unappealable decision" and of "crimes against the faith (schism)" . In his place, the Reverend Don Antonino Canu is appointed, as announced by the archbishop's chancellery, with whom the priests of Cottolengo already operating in the Historic Center will collaborate, as well as other priests present in the pastoral district.
The Archbishop of Sassari invites the diocesan community, as stated in the note from the chancellery, to pray for the unity of the Church, keeping in mind that Christians, in addition to the blood bond and belonging to the common human family, "have God as their Father and the Church as their only mother", and are part of the same body of Christ of which they are members. "The members of Christ must not be in conflict with each other; all those who form his body must each carry out their own office... so that there are no divisions in the body, but unity, and the members are solicitous for one another" (St. Augustine).
Cornet is the author of a book entitled “Habemus Antipapam” in which he poses a series of questions related to the figure of Benedict XVI and, among these, he also wonders about the consequences if Francis were to be judged an Antipope .
