Local Catholic group ousted after Vatican exorcism probe
Tuesday, 16 July 2024
The leaders of a Catholic group in Christchurch have been asked to leave the Christchurch diocese* following a Vatican investigation into alleged abuse and unauthorised exorcisms.
A spokesperson for the group believes the decision is unfair, potentially in violation of human rights, and says they intend to take legal action.
However, the move is “for the good of the church and the faithful”, Christchurch Bishop Michael Gielen says, and comes years after former members of the Sons of The Most Holy Redeemer reported abuse allegations to the diocese.
A spokesperson for the bishop refused to say what exactly the investigation found, but said “the actions speak for themselves”.
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They also did not say how, or if, they will be monitoring the group, which is led by Father Anthony Mary.
In an update to parishioners, Gielen said all professed members of the group (which The Press understands consists of three priests and four brothers) have been asked to leave the diocese, and any ministry carried out by the priests from Monday will be unauthorised and illicit.
The diocese spokesperson did not say what will happen if the group continued to operate.
Will McCartney, a parishioner and spokesperson for the group, said the community of 300 parishioners intended to take legal action.
He said serious claims made against the group’s leadership were not proven by the investigation, and he believed the Catholic Church was hinging its decision on an administrative issue. However, The Press could not independently verify this in time for print.
The Press understands the group’s Christchurch premises, which includes monasteries in St Albans, Christchurch, and South Canterbury, will remain the group’s property.
As of December, the group had three priests and four brothers. The Press understands about 50 parishioners attend mass.
The investigation that led to the group’s removal began in November, after Gielen - who had been relatively new to the diocese - approached the Holy See (the church’s governing body) at the Vatican.
The allegations reportedly involved children being told they were possessed by Satan and having lengthy exorcisms performed on them and isolation of parents from their children.
Emeritus Bishop Robert McGuckin, from Australia, led the investigation as the Pope’s representative.
At the time, Christopher Longhurst, a theologian and national leader of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said his organisation had received multiple reports of alleged ritualistic and other forms of faith-based abuse by priests of the Sons, as well as alleged sexual grooming.
Longhurst said nothing had been done about the complaints, while former Bishop Paul Martin said it had been passed on to the church’s national office for professional standards.
In a 2021 email to Longhurst, seen by The Press, Martin wrote that the Sons were following safeguarding protocols, and there was a safeguarding officer who ensured these were followed.
The group (which also has a presence in Scotland and in the United States) teaches a traditionalist version of the Catholic faith, with mass largely held in Latin.
It was founded in the 1980s at a time where the Catholic Church was modernising. In the decades that followed there were tensions between the Vatican and traditionalists, but in 2008 (a year after the Christchurch branch began) the group reconciled with Rome, got a new name, and was welcomed back to the church by Pope Benedict XVI.
In the group’s absence, the Christchurch diocese will begin offering weekly traditional Latin mass in Kaiapoi, beginning on Sunday.
*CORRECTION: A previous version of this story said members of the Sons of The Most Holy Redeemer had been defrocked. This is not correct, they could still practice outside of Christchurch if they receive permission from the bishop of another diocese.