Bishop Dominique Rey, who resigned on 7 January, had been bishop of the diocese since 2000 and was credited with fostering a significant number of vocations to the priesthood and religious life, and at odds to the sharp decline in vocations across France.
In 2020, Rey ordained nine men to the sacred priesthood and six new deacons. By the end of 2021, the diocese had 215 incardinated priests, an increase from 187 in 2000, surpassing even the figure in 1950 of 210.
A strong advocate of the so-called “Benedict option” of mutual enrichment between different liturgical traditions, Rey is a member of the charismatic Emmanuel Community but is also known for celebrating the Tridentine Mass. He has also welcomed a large number of new communities, some of which celebrated exclusively the Traditional Latin Mass.
However, he also drew criticism for being too laissez-faire in his approach to the communities he allowed into the diocese and an apparent willingness to accept seminarians and priests rejected by other dioceses.
This ultimately led to an unusual situation in June 2022 when the diocese announced that the annual priestly ordinations were to be suspended with less than a month’s notice before their proposed date. The suspension came after a “fraternal visit” to the diocese by Archbishop Jean-Marc Aveline of Marseille, which was initiated by the Vatican, raised questions about the restructuring of the seminary and the conduct of pastoral policy in the diocese.
Continue reading at the Catholic Herald