It's unstoppable - for the umpteenth time in this Pontificate, a bishop who is related to a conservative community, who is considered conservative, who has conservative positions, who is under the "protest" of a sizable portion of his liberal priests and/or colleagues...is removed OR (as in this case) submits his resignation (or "resignation").
This Thursday it was in France, where the Bishop of Quimper (a member of the conservative Communauté Saint-Martin, ordained in Genoa in 1987), Jean-Marie le Vert, resigned (or "resigned") and had his resignation (or "resignation") accepted by the Pope. He had been named bishop of Quimper by Benedict XVI in 2007, and had been under strong attack from his liberal priests ever since, even taking a leave (for personal reasons - caused by the intensely stressful situation, perhaps... - or for superior orders, who knows?) in 2014.
The very conservative Communauté Saint-Martin, whose foundation by Msgr. Jean-François Guérin (a Fontgombault oblate) was inspired and promoted by Cardinal Siri, is the largest non-diocesan provider of new priests for the Church in France, with several ordinations every year (more than any Traditionalist community).
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(Days ago a coadjutor, considered reasonably conservative, was named to "help" the most tradition-friendly bishop in Italy, Mario Oliveri, of Albenga-Imperia, who is still only 70... More on that case in this previous Rorate post.)
Is the massacre of conservative Bishops (and even the eventual Cardinal...) coming soon to a diocese near you?
