The Diocese of Aberdeen in Scotland has confirmed it is in direct contact with the Holy See to assess the canonical situation of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer, better known as the Transalpine Redemptorists. This step follows the publication on October 16th of a letter from the community stating it rejects "the synodal Church distinct from the divinely instituted Catholic Church."
A Traditional Community Under Scrutiny
In a statement dated October 24th, Bishop Hugh Gilbert, OSB, of Aberdeen, stated that the diocese "deeply regrets the tone, direction, and essential elements of this letter." He added that "the competent Dicasteries of the Holy See are studying the situation and will provide the necessary canonical and doctrinal guidance."
Founded in 1987 by Father Michael Mary Sim, at the urging of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and with the support of Cardinal Édouard Gagnon, the Transalpine Redemptorist community is based on the island of Papa Stronsay in northern Scotland. In 2012, it obtained canonical recognition from the Holy See under the pontificate of Benedict XVI.
New Tensions with Rome and Local Bishops
The congregation has houses in the United States, in Montana, and in New Zealand, in Christchurch. However, their presence in the latter diocese ended after a decision by Bishop Michael Gielen, supported by the Vatican, to expel the community.
On October 31st, Father Michael Mary published a new statement on the community's website. In it, he references recent remarks by Pope Francis, who, in a homily delivered at the Vatican, reportedly stated that "no one possesses the whole truth."
For the superior, such a phrase amounts to denying the Catholic faith as the unique path to salvation: "If this is not a denial of Catholicism as the only true religion, then I do not know what it is," he writes.
In this text, the religious cites Sacred Scripture, the Council of Trent, as well as teachings from Gregory XVI and Leo XIII, to demonstrate that the faith of the Church cannot be compatible with what he calls "a new modern Church." Father Michael Mary specifically denounces the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, a document of the Second Vatican Council, celebrated at the Vatican, which he accuses of having placed Catholicism "on the same level as other religions."
According to him, "The Mass of all time is not sufficient by itself. Its inseparable companion is the faith of all time. One without the other is meaningless: they are two organs of the same body."
The Controversial Role of Cardinal Zuppi
The superior also mentions the participation of Cardinal Matteo Zuppi in the recent Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage in Rome, followed by an interreligious event where the prelate lit candles with non-Christians. He believes this scene symbolizes "a united world religion, not founded on the God of Truth, but on human fraternity."
He adds: "In such a religion, there may perhaps remain a corner for the Traditional Mass, but none for the Traditional Faith."
Zuppi, a cardinal since 2019 and president of the Italian Episcopal Conference since 2022, is known for his positions favorable to LGBT demands and for having celebrated in 2020 the civil marriage of a former Grand Master of the Freemasons of Rome.
A Visible Fracture Since Vatican II
The controversy arises as the Vatican was celebrating the 60th anniversary of the declaration Nostra Aetate, whose origins trace back to the meeting between Pope John XXIII and the Jewish historian Jules Isaac in 1960. The latter had requested a new approach to dialogue between the Church and Judaism, which led to this conciliar text.
Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, recalled that this request led to the drafting of the final document, which remains to this day a subject of deep division within the Church.
For Father Michael Mary, the current line of many bishops clearly departs from the transmitted faith: "It is evident, from the silence of the bishops for sixty years, that they adhere to these errors."