When the reforms came to his Mexican parish and he refused to conform he was excommunicated and removed from his parish by the bishop of Acapulco on April 30, 1977. With the support of his 2,000 parishoners, Father Carmona was able to keep his parish and but was nonetheless considered excommunicated by the church authorities.
Father Carmona continued as pastor of Divine Providence parish separated from the church establishment as a traditional Catholic declaring that the papacy was vacant and dismissed Pope Paul VI and his successors as antipopes. On October 17, 1981, Father Carmona was consecrated bishop by the traditional Catholic Archbishop Peter Martin Ngo Dinh Thuc.
Bishop Carmona proceed to consecrate other bishops for the traditional Catholic movement. They were Mexicans Benigno Bravo and Roberto Martinez and Americans George Musey and Mark Pivarunas.