A religious institute in New Zealand lost its appeal to the Vatican to continue its Public Ministry in the Diocese of Christchurch, after the local bishop ordered his prohibition for complaints of unauthorized exorcisms and other abuses.
In a letter dated August 10, addressed to his diocese, the Bishop of Christchurch, Mons. Michael Gielen, informed that the Vatican “in its entirety” the appeal presented by the sons of the Holy Redeemer, whom the prelate had forbidden to exercise the ministry in Christchurch last year.
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The bishop indicated in July 2024 that the community had been the subject of an apostolic visit by the Australian bishop Robert McGuckin. After the recommendation of the Holy See, Gielen withdrew the ministerial faculties of its members and also asked the group to “leave the Diocese of Christchurch.”
In both letters, Mons. Gielen did not specify the reasons for the investigation and sanctions, but the Christchurch Press reported that the process was related to “alleged unauthorized abuses and exorcisms.” The New Zealand Herald had already informed about these complaints in 2023.
In his letter on August 10, the Bishop said that the Institute continued his ministry during the time that the appeal lasted.
The refusal of the Vatican, he said, implies that the children of the Blessed Redeemer continue under the prohibition, which also applies to “priests who arrived after the publication of the decrees.”
“My main concern remains spiritual health and unity” of the diocese, said Mons. Gielen.
The children of the Blessed Redeemer have the island of Pope StronSay, in the North Sea against the Scottish coast, where they manage a monastery and a farm.
The community was founded in 1988 following a monastic rule based on that of San Alfonso María de Ligorio and was formally erected as a religious institute in 2012. They are described as a “congregation of missionary monks” that regularly “leave their contemplative life and undertake trips” to “preach eternal truths in the form of missions wherever they are invited.”
Translated and adapted by ACI Press. Originally published in.
Daniel Payne
Daniel Payne is a senior editor of Catholic News Agency. He previously worked at College Fix and Just the News. He lives in Virginia with his family.