CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — A traditional Mass community of priests is taking legal action against the local diocesan bishop who ordered their eviction from his diocese upon receipt of a Vatican investigation.
Local news media recently reported that the New Zealand members of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer are suing Bishop Michael Gielen of the Diocese of Christchurch over his sudden July decision to evict them from the diocese.
The Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer, also known as the Transalpine Redemptorists, have been based in the diocese since 2017 after being invited by the now-deceased Bishop Barry Jones.
In a shocking development, Bishop Gielen ordered them on July 13 to cease their public ministry within 24 hours. Stating that the measures were “for the good of the church and the faithful,” Gielen ordered the community to leave his diocese reportedly within 90 days.
Gielen announced that a Vatican investigation had been performed by Bishop Robert McGuckin on behalf of the Congregation (now Dicastery) for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (CICLSAL).
The Vatican investigation had presented Gielen with a “series of recommendations” that he said he had accepted. Gielen did not outline what prompted the investigation or what the recommendations were specifically.
Since then, the traditional-Mass offering community has been able to offer only private Masses. Should they be forced to leave the diocese, they would have to abandon the community along with property and land valued at around $4.5 million.
The Sons have instigated canonical action against Gielen’s eviction notice, according to The Press, and are apparently prepared to appeal their case to CICLSAL and to the Vatican’s Apostolic Signatura if necessary.
Gielen has yet to respond to the community’s canonical legal action.
In the meantime, he continued his warning against attending any of the community’s Mass – amid reports of members of their congregation appearing for private Masses – attesting that any “public Masses are illicit.”
“Bishop Michael would like to remind the faithful that any public Masses those priests celebrate are illicit – that is, outside the rules of the Church,” a note on the diocesan website reads. “The decrees remain in effect regardless of any challenge.”
In place of the traditional Mass offered by the community, Gielen has established a weekly Sunday Mass to which he has invited devotees of the Latin Mass to attend.
Asked by LifeSiteNews for more information and comment, Gielen’s press office simply pointed back to their public statement of July 13. The statement contains all the diocese has to say,” the bishop’s office replied. “The process of the establishment of the investigation, the appointment of the visitator and receipt of a report from the Dicastery is outlined in the letter.”
It is not clear if the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer have initiated canonical and civil proceedings or just canonical proceedings at this juncture. LifeSite has contacted the community for comment and will update this report accordingly.
