Bishop Halts New Members in French Religious Community

Bishop Hervé Giraud of Viviers, France, has ordered the Famille Missionnaire de Notre-Dame (FMND), a Novus-Ordo community, to stop accepting new members and to suspend all religious vows, following a recent court ruling involving the community’s former superior, Fr Bernard Domini.

The decision, announced on 30 March, follows a French court sentencing the former leader for “abuse of weakness”. However, the community’s lawyer described the ruling as 'close to an acquittal'. Both sides have appealed the verdict, meaning the case is not final.

The bishop presented the measure as a precautionary step, but it has drawn strong criticism. Some families argue that it disregards the presumption of innocence and disrupts long-standing vocations.

Parents have accused the bishop of “abuse of power” and of “destroying the religious lives” of their children by preventing them from making commitments that had been prepared for over many years.

Bishop Giraud has since said [=words], he is willing to meet with families and has acknowledged their concerns, but he wants to exercise caution [=deeds] amid what he called conflicting testimonies.

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