World news

Paul Waddington reports from around the Globe

France

The ordinations of four priests and two deacons in the Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon have been postponed, following a visitation of the diocesan seminary led by Archbishop JeanMarc Aveline of Marseilles. Officials from the Roman Curia also took part in the visitation, which was instigated by the Vatican. Bishop Dominique Rey of Fréjus-Toulon explained afterwards that the suspension of the ordinations was “requested due to questions that certain Roman dicasteries were asking about the restructuring of the seminary and the policy of welcoming people to the diocese.”

Two of the four priests who were due to be ordained in June were traditional Franciscans from Italy, and a third has been described as coming from a “Tridentine Mass group”. The fourth came from Latin America and began his studies under a Paraguayan bishop who had been dismissed by Pope Francis in 2014. He later completed his studies in the seminary of the Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon.

Under the leadership of Bishop Dominique Rey, the Diocese of FréjusToulon is noted for the high number of vocations that it attracts, and its seminary includes many students from other regions of France and abroad. Furthermore, Bishop Rey is known for his willingness to welcome new movements and communities to his diocese.

In a separate, but possibly related matter, Bishop Rey has effectively shut down the Monastery of Saint Benedict, whose leader is the traditionalist Australian monk, Alcuin Reid. This happened after it emerged that Alcuin Reid and another monk had been secretly ordained outside the diocese without his bishop’s permission. Bishop Rey suspended Alcuin Reid from celebrating the sacraments after the monk refused to say who had ordained him.

Toulouse

The recently appointed Archbishop of Toulouse, Monsignor Guy de Kerimel, has banned the seminarians of his diocese from wearing the cassock. Whilst visiting the diocesan seminary, he saw seminarians sitting in choir in soutane and surplice. The following day, he wrote to the seminarians forbidding the wearing of clerical dress, both inside and outside the seminary. This was to apply to all seminarians, including ordained deacons.

Although the archbishop did not intend his letter to be published, it soon appeared on social media. The news of the banning spread rapidly around the archdiocese, producing considerable criticism amongst traditionalists.

Washington, USA

Prior to the Covid pandemic, Latin Masses were plentiful within the Diocese of Washington. It was offered at least once a month at 19 locations. However, after Covid restrictions were lifted, the Latin Mass returned to only seven of the venues. The Archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Gregory, has made no public pronouncement on Latin Mass provision since the publication of Traditionis Custodes, other than to say that the matter should be discussed as part of the synodal process in the archdiocese. Despite reports that there was support for the Latin Mass at several synodal sessions, rumours persist that the Cardinal intends to restrict the Latin Mass to a single location.

Diocese of Savannah

The Most Rev. Stephen Parkes, Bishop of Savannah in Georgia, wrote to the Dicastery for Divine Worship seeking permission for Tridentine Masses to continue at its Cathedral Basilica of St John the Baptist, and at four Parish Churches within the diocese. A response came in July stating that the Mass in the cathedral must stop in August, but that the Masses in the other churches could continue until May 2023. In a letter to the faithful of the diocese, Bishop Parkes has stated that the ruling will be implemented.

Ordinations at the Traditional Orders

The Priestly Fraternity of St Peter has fifteen new priests. Eight of them had studied at their European seminary at Wigratzbad in Germany, and seven at their North American Seminary of Our Lady of Guadeloupe. Amongst the eight who had studied in Europe was the Welshman, Gwilym Evans, whom many readers may know. The FSSP also has sixteen new deacons, who with the grace of God will be ordained to the priesthood next year.

Meanwhile, eight new priests and six deacons have been ordained for the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. Amongst the newly ordained deacons were two Englishmen, Liam Dodd and Michael McCowan. The number of English seminarians at the Institute’s seminary in Gricigliano near Florence is about to get a boost, with five candidates from their House of Formation in Preston being accepted to join in September.

BREAKING NEWS

As this article is being written (in July), unconfirmed reports suggest that Cardinal Cupich, the Archbishop of Chicago, has told the members of the Institute of Christ the King that he is intending to shut down their activities in the Archdiocese with effect from 1st August.

The Institute have their United States headquarters in Chicago, and for the last sixteen years have been working on the restoration of the former Carmelite Church of St Clara. The works suffered a major setback in 2015 when a fire reduced the building to a shell and destroyed all the work that had been done. Despite the fire, the Institute have persisted with the project, and to date have spent more than $4million on what is intended to become a Shrine to honour Christ the King. The Institute have also acquired the adjacent Friary, which they use as their administrative headquarters, and the former school, which is currently being converted into a pastoral centre.