One dispute can be dismissed as a misunderstanding. Two can be blamed upon personality. By the time Catholics from several unrelated parishes are signing petitions, marching by torchlight, questioning the handling of parish money, protesting clerical transfers, objecting to restrictions upon the traditional Roman liturgy and publishing letters alleging intolerable treatment within the presbyterate, another question has to be asked: what is happening in the Diocese of Ivrea?
Bishop Daniele Salera has governed Ivrea since February 2025. In little more than nineteen months his episcopate has become the focus of an extraordinary accumulation of disputes: restrictions upon the Traditional Latin Mass at Rivarolo Canavese; the closing of the sanctuary at Cuceglio to an announced SSPX pilgrimage; the bitter aftermath of the case of Fr Mario Viano; a petition carrying 1,078 signatures against the transfer of Fr Alberto Carlevato; unrest following the removal of Fr Ugo Lodi from Montalenghe; controversy concerning approximately €190,000 belonging to that parish; and now the public accusations of the Indian missionary priest Fr David Kamal Chelladurai.¹
These controversies are not identical. Some claims remain disputed. Some decisions plainly fall within the legitimate authority of a diocesan bishop. It would be intellectually dishonest simply to pile every grievance into an indictment and declare the case proved. It would be equally dishonest to pretend that their accumulation tells us nothing.
That is the point which makes Ivrea significant. This is not merely a revolt by traditional Catholics. The people who opposed the transfer of a priest after twenty-five years are not necessarily the people attached to the Traditional Mass. The parishioners concerned about an inheritance are not thereby supporters of the SSPX. Those who walked five kilometres by torchlight for Fr Viano are not interchangeable with those defending Fr Kamal. The common denominator is not ideology. It is diocesan government.
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