Papa Stronsay

Three monks secretly left the Transalpine Redemptorists’ monastery on Papa Stronsay by boat after allegedly arranging their departure with the Diocese of Aberdeen without informing superiors Three monks of the Transalpine Redemptorists have left the order’s monastery on the island of Papa Stronsay after secretly arranging their departure from the remote Orkney community. The Press and Journal reported on 20 May that two priests and a subdeacon coordinated their exit with Bishop Hugh Gilbert of Aberdeen and left the island by boat without informing their superiors. The arrangement was allegedly discovered only on the day of their departure after the use of a monastery laptop came to light. The three men are understood to have left Papa Stronsay quietly and are now believed to be staying at an undisclosed location under the care of the Diocese of Aberdeen. Fr Anthony Mary, the superior of the community, criticised the manner of the departure and said the remaining members had been left without any explanation. “They tried to leave quietly, but it came to light on the very day they intended to go,” he said. “One of the fathers discovered it after they used a laptop without permission.” Describing the departure itself, Fr Anthony said the men had left without speaking to their superiors or fellow members. “They left on the evening boat, and we have heard nothing since – no word, no explanation, nothing,” he said. “It is as though we never existed.” The priest also alleged that Bishop Gilbert had “worked against us” and said repeated attempts to contact both the bishop and the departing clerics had produced no personal response. “I wrote to the bishop three times and to the priests four or five times,” he said. “There has been no reply to me personally. Recently, the bishop said he would respond at some stage. But trying to live as a good Catholic and follow the faith has become very difficult.” The congregation recently published a document rejecting the legitimacy of every pope since Pope Paul VI. The document, entitled The Dogma to Steer By , described Pope Leo XIV as a “pretender”, called for his replacement and declared the group’s intention to withdraw cooperation with the Vatican, which it accused of having been overtaken by “modernist enemies”. The document is interesting because it does not follow the usual norms of sedevacantism, where adherents normally reject the papacies since Pius XII or, on occasion, since Pius X. The monks, however, appear to accept John XXIII as a legitimate pope while rejecting the “papal pretenders Paul VI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, Francis, and Leo XIV”, who, according to the text, “have engaged in actions embodying indifferentism”. The text also claims that the “Church has been infiltrated by enemies from at least the time of Pope Gregory XVI”, but that it is only since the Second Vatican Council that popes have “caused a spiritual catastrophe of the greatest imaginable proportions”. The monks also say that they are working and praying for an “Imperfect General Council”, in which “all the Catholic bishops of the world who have kept the true Faith” will “pronounce on the status of the present claimants to the papacy and restore order to the Church”. They continue that, until that day comes, which they acknowledge may still be some time away, they will seek to be “guided by the Magisterium of the holy Popes who have always taught the one true Faith in its integrity and purity”. Following publication of the text, Fr Michael Mary, founder of the Transalpine Redemptorists, reportedly came under investigation by Rome. Speaking separately, Fr Michael said the three men had left because of “theological differences” and had opposed the direction taken by the community. “We’ve lost three priests – two priests and a subdeacon – who have really not been in agreement from the beginning,” he said. “They hung on for quite a while, not wanting to abandon their vocations, but what we’ve come to now has been the last straw.” He added that the departing members had ultimately concluded they could no longer remain. “They were unable in their consciences to go along with us. So, they left us,” he said. The departures took place only weeks after the disappearance of Brother Justin Evans, 25, a member of the community who was reported “lost to the sea” on 11 April. Although a body was later recovered, it has not yet been positively identified. The Transalpine Redemptorists were founded in 1988 and were initially closely associated with the Society of St Pius X. Following Pope Benedict XVI’s lifting of the SSPX excommunications in 2009, the community entered into closer relations with Rome and was later recognised as a religious institute under the authority of the Diocese of Aberdeen.

A body has been recovered from the sea near Orkney in the search for Brother Ignatius, the 24-year-old monk who disappeared from the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer on Papa Stronsay in April. Police Scotland said formal identification has yet to take place, but his family has been informed The body of a young monk missing from Papa Stronsay’s Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer since April has been recovered from the sea near Orkney. Police Scotland said a man’s body was discovered in the water off the neighbouring island of Stronsay shortly after 7.30am on May 7. Formal identification has yet to take place, but the family of Justin Evans, 24, known in religion as Brother Ignatius, has been informed. In a statement, Police Scotland said: “The death is being treated as unexplained. Inquiries are ongoing. A report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal in due course.” Brother Ignatius, originally from New Zealand, disappeared from Golgotha Monastery on Papa Stronsay shortly before midnight on April 11. He had been living with the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer, a traditionalist Redemptorist community based on the isolated Orkney island. The disappearance prompted a major multi-agency search operation involving Police Scotland, HM Coastguard, an RNLI lifeboat and rescue helicopter crews. The search focused on the coastline and surrounding waters amid fears that the monk had entered the sea during harsh weather conditions. Last month, the Bishop of Aberdeen, Hugh Gilbert OSB, confirmed that authorities believed the monk had “come to harm in conditions involving the sea” and announced that official search efforts had been suspended. In a statement released through the diocese regarding today’s news, Bishop Gilbert said: “The Diocese has learned with deep sadness of the disappearance and presumed death of Justin Evans, also known as Brother Ignatius, aged 24, a member of the Redemptorist Community on the island of Papa Stronsay. “It is believed that he came to harm in conditions involving the sea. The local police and coastguard services have now called off their searches. “Brother Ignatius was known for his humility and charity, and our prayers are with his community and family at this difficult time.” The monk had been with the community for around two years. Members of the monastery described his disappearance as the greatest tragedy to affect the order since its arrival on Papa Stronsay in 1999. Speaking previously to local media in Scotland, Fr Michael Mary, the superior of the community, said: “The situation is utterly tragic. We are a close community and this has hit us all very hard and is deeply hurting.” He added that Brother Ignatius came from a deeply religious family and that three of his brothers had also entered monastic life. “Two brothers lived here with him so we are living both a deep family tragedy and a huge community loss,” he said. The Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer, also known as the Transalpine Redemptorists, settled on the island after purchasing it for £200,000 more than 25 years ago. The community had previously been based on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent before relocating to Orkney in search of a more secluded monastic life centred on prayer, penance and the traditional liturgy. The community originated within the orbit of the Society of St Pius X before distancing itself from the Society in the early 2000s amid internal disputes over authority and relations with Rome. After a prolonged period in an irregular canonical position, the monks and priests were reconciled with the Holy See under Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in 2008 and recognised as a religious institute of diocesan right under the Diocese of Aberdeen. Their return to communion was at the time viewed as a notable success in Benedict XVI’s efforts to restore unity with traditionalist groups attached to the pre-conciliar liturgy. That reconciliation has now effectively collapsed following the publication of “ The Dogma to Steer By” . The language of the community’s latest statement places it firmly within the sedevacantist milieu, going considerably further than the Society of St Pius X, which continues to recognise the legitimacy of the Roman Pontiff despite its opposition to aspects of the Second Vatican Council and subsequent reforms. The Papa Stronsay monks now openly reject the authority of “Leo XIV and his bishops” while advocating an “Imperfect General Council” to restore the Church, a position associated with more radical traditionalist currents.

The Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer, a traditionalist community previously associated with the SSPX and later reconciled with Rome, has formally rejected the current papacy and called for an “imperfect general council” The Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer (FSSR) have publicly rejected the validity of the current papacy in a 21-page letter which describes a “spiritual catastrophe” in the Church since the Second Vatican Council. The community issued the document on 2 May, setting out a sustained critique of developments in doctrine, liturgy and governance in the Catholic Church over recent decades. In the letter, addressed to the faithful, the priests and brothers claim that the crisis stems from a long-term infiltration within the Church’s structures. “The problem is, as St Pius X warned, that the structures of the Catholic Church have been infiltrated by men of a different non-Catholic religion,” they wrote. “They use the Catholic name, they occupy the Catholic buildings, they know the Catholic culture. From the outside they look to be Catholics, but they do not profess the Catholic Faith as taught through the centuries.” The statement continues: “In reality, they have been formed as revolutionaries committed to the condemned Freemasonic heresies of Religious Liberty, Religious Indifference and False Ecumenism. Their infiltration has struck a lethal wound to the Catholic religion; they have brought about a major schism from the Mystical Body. We must stand firmly with the Catholic Church and move well away from the camouflage of its counterfeit.” The community argues that the effects of this alleged infiltration became fully visible in the period following the Second Vatican Council, held between 1962 and 1965. “Since the Second Vatican Council, the apparent Popes have caused a spiritual catastrophe of the greatest imaginable proportions,” the letter states. It adds that “new doctrinal, moral, liturgical, and disciplinary decisions since Vatican II cannot be accepted because they contradict what came before.” Despite the severity of its criticisms, the community insists that it does not consider itself to be separating from the Church. “Our Faith has not changed. Holding the True Faith of our Fathers, we will continue to offer the True Mass. We will worship the True God. And we will work for an Imperfect General Council to bring about the triumph of Christ’s One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church,” the letter states. The monks further emphasise this point, writing: “We are not saying that we should leave the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church is the Ark of Salvation, the Mystical Body of Christ, the Bride without spot or wrinkle. We cling to her with all our strength. But we must recognise that the institutional structures that claim to be the Catholic Church have been infiltrated.” The declaration goes on to set out practical conclusions drawn from these claims, including a refusal to recognise the authority of the current pontiff. “We must do what Catholics have always done in times of crisis: we must hold fast to the Faith as it has always been taught. We must give no juridical recognition to those who have departed from it, including Leo XIV and his bishops,” the text states. Since 1999, the FSSR community has been based on Papa Stronsay, a small island in the Orkney archipelago off the north coast of Scotland. They also have one house in the United States and previously had another in New Zealand. The group traces its origins to the Society of St Pius X, itself founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre amid disputes over the interpretation and implementation of the Second Vatican Council. In 2008, the community sought reconciliation with Rome and was received into full communion during the pontificate of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. The declaration issued by the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer on Papa Stronsay is the culmination of a trajectory that has been evident for some time. On 16 October last year, the group published “An Open Letter to the Catholic Bishops, Priests, Religious and Faithful” which took issue with various actions taken by Rome under Pope Francis, including Amoris Laetitia , Traditionis Custodes and Fiducia Supplicans . The recent letter marks a decisive break and makes the prospect of reconciliation considerably more difficult. Leaving little ambiguity, it states: “Since the Second Vatican Council, the apparent Popes have caused a spiritual catastrophe of the greatest imaginable proportions,” the priests and brothers write, adding that “new doctrinal, moral, liturgical, and disciplinary decisions since Vatican II cannot be accepted because they contradict what came before.” They conclude by saying: “We must give no juridical recognition to those who have departed from it, including Leo XIV and his bishops.” What has now emerged publicly confirms what some had already suspected. The community’s current position goes beyond that of the Society of St Pius X, which, despite its longstanding criticisms of Vatican II, has consistently stopped short of denying the legitimacy of the Pope. The Papa Stronsay declaration represents a further step, one that places the group closer to sedevacantist or quasi-sedevacantist currents. This shift had been anticipated in reporting from within traditionalist circles. It was unlikely that the Transalpine Redemptorists would rejoin the Society of St Pius X. Instead, sources within the Society suggested that the community was moving towards a more radical alignment, potentially situating itself within what has sometimes been described as the “sedevacantist” orbit. It is also believed that the group has received conditional ordinations from Bishop Pierre Roy, a former priest of the Society of St Pius X who is now a sedevacantist bishop. Bishop Roy himself has advocated the convocation of an ‘Imperfect General Council’ to resolve what he perceives to be a crisis in the Church. The community has explicitly called for an ‘Imperfect General Council’, a gathering of bishops who, in their view, have preserved the true faith. The idea has been referenced in external interviews. In remarks to a New Zealand outlet, Father Michael Mary indicated support for such a proposal, suggesting that the community sees this as a practical path forward in the absence of recognised ecclesial authority.