A man who claims to be a Catholic bishop and leads a church and seminary south of Black Forest that holds beliefs contrary to church law has been excommunicated for his “persistent state of refusing to be obedient.” But Anthony D. Ward, who heads the religious group known as Servants of t he Holy Family, told his congregation he is continuing what is considered to be his “schismatic attitude” and proceeding as usual with rituals, including celebrating mass. “These penalties are without any real effect,” Ward said in addressing his followers after the Nov. 16 mass, which was recorded. “They can’t say he’s not a real priest anymore – he can still say the mass. He might not be permitted, but he can do so.” What Ward believes to be “a religious community faithful to true Catholic doctrine and morals,” according to his church’s website, is what the Diocese of Colorado Springs and the universal Catholic church calls a situation “not in good standing” and one that reflects “obstinate ill will,” according to a letter Bishop James Golka, who oversees the Diocese of Colorado Springs, sent to Ward last year. The excommunication – a formal disciplinary measure meant to encourage repentance for grave sins – was triggered by Ward’s “illicit attempt to be ordained a bishop, which took place in March 2024,” said Veronica Ambuul, spokeswoman for the Colorado Springs diocese. The event did not follow the proper process, which requires a papal appointment, and therefore is invalid under church law. Consecrating a bishop without a papal mandate incurs automatic excommunication for both parties. It is unclear who consecrated Ward last year. The previous bishop of the local diocese declared the Servants of the Holy Family as a schismatic group in 2013. The current bishop, Golka, reiterated that factional standing with a decree on April 16, 2024. The censure included not only Ward but also any priest affiliated with the Servants of the Holy Family. The group’s teachings are said to violate the authority of the Holy See, including the Catholic belief that the eucharist is the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ, the Christian savior. Also, Ward’s church conducts masses in Latin, an older model of the service that the late Pope Francis took several steps to restrict during his 12-year pontificate. Pope Francis had said he was concerned that using the ancient form of worship was further dividing the church and “being used in an ideological way,” in opposition to the more modern mass under the reforms that came out of Vatican II councils in the 1960s. In a defense of his position, Ward said in his Nov. 16 speech that he received a certified letter from Golka on Nov. 10, informing him that he is being excommunicated at the direction of the Vatican department responsible for safeguarding doctrinal purity and upholding and promoting Catholic teaching on faith and morals worldwide. Ward was given 30 days to respond to the Vatican about the matter. “I’m ignoring them; I object and repudiate all of them. I find these decrees … (to be) bullying, unjust, unlawful and invalid,” Ward said to his congregation. “I have not and will not obey commands from a kangaroo court composed of heretics; schismatics; free masons; representatives of the most vile, sinful perversions; enemies of the cross of Christ, of whom the majority of bishops no longer believe in the presence of our lord Jesus in the real presence of the eucharist.” Servants of the Holy Family was founded in February of 1977 on 10 acres of land on the outskirts of Colorado Springs as the first community for men formed after the traditional Latin mass began being replaced in 1970, its website states. For nearly 50 years, the religious community has accepted priests, seminarians and brothers as members and provided training in its ways. Ward said in his address that the episcopal state of a priest or bishop, in which “there’s a physical transformation of the soul, remains forever, no matter what people say or how they treat you on earth.” Six of the church’s leaders issued a paper on Nov. 18 supporting Ward’s episcopal consecration, which elevates priests to bishops. They contend Ward is “innocent of the accusations unjustly leveled against him.” “As a matter of principle, a Catholic must not obey any authority who commands evil; this is clearly seen in the numberless errors, abuses, heresies and crimes committed by corrupt clergy,” the paper states. Ward is being stripped of his clerical state, though, making invalid his absolutions of confession, baptisms, marriages, confirmation, ordinations, eucharistic offerings and any acts of public worship, according to Golka’s letter. Golka encourages people to pray for the conversion and reconciliation of the Church of the Servants. “The Diocese of Colorado Springs is mainly concerned with alerting Catholics that none of the sacraments offered by the Servants of the Holy Family in the Black Forest section of Colorado Springs are valid,” Ambuul said. “This is particularly important during the holiday season, when people are often visiting from out of town and could unwittingly attend an invalid Mass.” The Diocese of Colorado Springs does offer sanctioned traditional Latin masses, Ambuul said, which are held at Immaculate Conception Parish in Security. The church’s schedule of masses and other activities are at http://cosfssp.org/. The Archdiocese of Denver lists 16 “illicit Catholic churches” within its territory, where ex-priests, priests without faculties, invalidly ordained priests and priests who are part of sects not in communion with the Pope hold services that not accepted as authentic or valid. Those churches are named on the Archdiocese of Denver’s website at https://archden.org/statement-called-catholic-masses/.  ...read more read less