Who is targeting the Institute of Christ the King and why now?
Le Parisien has just published 4 incriminating articles on the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest and especially against its founder and superior Mgr Wach (the curious can find these articles on the FC). We talk about sectarian drift, money and luxury, dismissed members, lace and blue pompoms, weakness for the monarchy... The main part of the information spread in these 4 articles is that the Institute of Christ the King, which has around forty priests in France spread across around 25 dioceses, would be in the sights of the “sectarian influence and abuses” cell of the Conference of Bishops of France. The journalist claims to have collected testimonies from 17 members (former or current) of the institute and parents of priests.
Another piece of information, which does not seem to be used by the journalist, is the affair of Clément, who announced his homosexuality upon entering the Institute. He undertook two “conversion therapies” with psychiatrists outside Italy. Today, he has radically changed his path and can live out his sexual orientation... While Rome formally prohibits the admission to the seminary of men with unnatural inclinations, one wonders how the journalist could have suggested that he could not live his orientation at the seminary…
Several questions remain unanswered after reading these articles: why did Le Parisien take up the matter? The author, who obviously does not know much about canon law (otherwise he would at least ask himself the question of the status of nuns), focuses on details such as the folklore specific to the Institute, some expenses which are not necessarily inconsiderable in Italian Tuscany on the occasion of ordinations, but are not attached, for example, to the automatic re-election of the founder. Why did these articles appear at the end of September, a few days before the opening of the Synod of bishops? Should we see a link there?
The last article mentions Mgr Jean-Luc Brunin, bishop of Le Havre, and President of the “sectarian abuses” unit attached to the Conference of Bishops of France. In his eyes, the Institute of Christ the King constitutes “a heavy file” with “numerous dysfunctions”. For more than two years, he has been sending information signals to the apostolic nunciature in France. But nothing changes. “For the moment, there is no return from Rome,” the clergyman despairs. Mgr Éric de Moulins-Beaufort, president of the Conference of Bishops of France, wrote, in June, to the prefect of the congregation to which the Institute depends. He requested the organization of a canonical visitation. Are these articles intended to force this visit?
The articles repeatedly cite Sébastien Goupil, a canon in conflict, who left with his brother several years ago. After trying to settle in the diocese of Toulon, they were sent back by Mgr Rey, which shows, by the way, that the latter does not welcome everyone indiscriminately. Not being accepted anywhere, they are condemned to return to the Institute, which they do not want at all. So, they sent a file to Rome to plead their case. These are elements of this file which are found in these articles, even though they were not directly questioned by the journalist. So who sent these elements to Le Parisien? And why now? Is it to reach Cardinal Burke, very linked to the Institute and cited in the articles, even though he is presented as the main opponent of the synod? After having prefaced a work against the synod, a widely distributed work, Cardinal Burke must speak at an international conference on October 3 in Rome, on the eve of the opening of the synod on synodality...
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