Ordinations suspended in Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon: An incomprehensible decision?

According to Father Pierre Vivarès the decision to suspend the ordinations planned in the diocese of Fréjus-Toulon may be justified, but without an explanation, it lacks charity.

The recent decision to postpone priestly and diaconal ordinations in the diocese of Fréjus-Toulon rightly raises many questions because it is incomprehensible. It is incomprehensible because no element of understanding has been shared either by Rome or by Toulon, the laconic communiqué of Mgr Dominique Rey, written jointly by the diocese and the Holy See, offers – strictly speaking – nothing.

Rome has forbidden a bishop who has been a bishop in the same diocese for twenty-two years to ordain priests and deacons to candidates trained in his seminary. This bishop has cultivated a dynamic and welcoming policy first implemented by Bishop Madec, Bishop Rey’s predecessor between 1983 and 2000. If there was a problem with a particular candidate, it was possible to delay his reception of Holy Orders.