Ousted Catholic leaders take legal action
The ousted leaders of a Catholic order in Christchurch who were investigated by the Vatican following abuse allegations say they will fight the bishop’s decision all the way to the church’s equivalent of the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, Palmerston North Bishop John Adams – a supporter of the conservative theology the Sons of The Most Holy Redeemer are known for – hasn’t ruled out accepting the order’s priests into his diocese, should they ask.
The Sons’ leadership allegedly abused and performed unauthorised exorcisms on members of its community, but the group has denied any wrongdoing.
Although details of the investigation’s findings were secret, the Vatican’s recommendation to ban the priests from performing mass in the diocese, and to leave the diocese physically, was a serious consequence.
The investigation itself – called an apostolic visitation – was a rare action to take, with some members of the Catholic Church saying they could not remember the last time there was one in New Zealand.
However, the Sons say they believe that Bishop Michael Gielen’s actions broke canon law (laws internal to the Catholic Church) by ordering its professed members (the priests and brothers) to leave the diocese.
The Press understands that not all professed members were accused of abuse.
Through their canon lawyer, the Sons formally petitioned Gielen to revoke his decision. Failing that, they would escalate it to the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life – the same Vatican department which made the recommendations to Gielen in the first place.
A spokesperson for the bishop said Gielen had the option to ignore the Vatican department’s recommendations, but chose to follow them. Gielen would respond to the Sons’ petition in the next few weeks, they said.
If the Sons fail to convince the Vatican that it was wrong, they plan to take the issue to the Sacred Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, which they describe as the Supreme Court for the Catholic Church.
The Sons were given 90 days (until early October) to leave the Christchurch diocese, which covers Canterbury and the West Coast.
They could move to another diocese in New Zealand, but they would need the permission of that diocese’s bishop. The Sons’ spokesperson said they would not consider that option until the legal action had finished.
Leaving would also mean leaving a community of dedicated supporters and property in Canterbury with a collective rateable value of $4.5 million.
It is possible that the group could refuse to follow orders, but this could trigger further action from the church.
There are six Catholic dioceses in New
Zealand. Almost all bishops ruled out welcoming the Sons to their diocese when asked by The Press, because of the Vatican investigation. Auckland Bishop Steve Lowe was overseas and unavailable to comment. Palmerston North Bishop John Adams said that if the Sons asked to move to his area, he would seek advice, but he would also take the Vatican’s recommendations into consideration.
Adams offered Latin mass (a style of mass associated with conservative Catholic theology, of which Adams is a supporter and has publicly said he wants to be more inclusive of) as a priest in Rangiora, where he was based before becoming bishop in 2023.
Asked if he was sympathetic to the possibility of priests being effectively deported if no-one else took them in – the concern of the Sons’ community – he said there might be issues uncovered by the investigation the public did not know about.
The group’s priests are no longer authorised to exercise sacred ministry (like mass) in the Christchurch diocese.
The diocese has received reports of gatherings still occurring at the Sons’ Rutland St property (which includes their church and living quarters), and a source told The Press there was a mass last week, but it was unclear if the gatherings met the threshold of illicit mass.
The group’s spokesperson said the Sons were cooperating with the bishop’s orders, but he could not rule out whether parishioners were attending mass there.
He said it was possible that uninvited people were turning up to the property while priests were holding private mass, and weren’t being asked to leave. It was also possible for priests to be invited into parishoners’ homes for private mass, he said. He said neither scenario was technically breaking the rules.
“We’re living in a grey area right now,” he said.