(LifeSiteNews) — Bishop Hugh Gilbert, OSB, of Aberdeen, Scotland, granted permission for two priests from the Congregation of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer (Transalpine Redemptorists) who have disassociated with the order’s leadership to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) at the Church of Our Lady of the Garioch and St. John the Evangelist in Fetternear every Sunday.
As reported by AdVaticanum, Gilbert granted permission for Father Yousef Marie, FSSR., and Father Peter Mary, FSSR., to celebrate the TLM each Sunday at the Fetternear parish, expanding on his prior permission for the Latin Mass to be celebrated at the parish once a month.
The priests disassociated themselves from the Transalpine Redemptorists, based on the small Orkney isle of Papa Stronsay, after they issued a declaration in May denouncing Paul VI through to Leo XIV as “papal pretenders” and condemning the reforms of the Second Vatican Council as having “brought about a major schism from the Mystical Body.”
Gilbert’s enhanced permissions for the celebration of the TLM come just days before Father Michael Mary Sim, FSSR., the founder and superior general of the priests’ order, is scheduled to be consecrated a bishop on July 25.
Clergy affiliated with the Transalpine Redemptorists had previously celebrated the monthly TLM at the church, but Gilbert had reassigned the responsibility to Father Bruno Murphy, a diocesan priest, after the traditional order began releasing statements critical of the Vatican.
READ: Archbishop Cordileone calls for ‘easier access’ to Latin Mass after SSPX consecrations
The Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer, a small community of just over two dozen priests and brothers who live on an remote island north of Scotland called Papa Stronsay (or Golgotha Monastery Island), was founded by Father Michael Mary in 1987 under the auspices of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and the Society of St. Pius X at the encouragement of Cardinal Édouard Gagnon. It was reconciled with the Vatican in 2012 and has operations in the U.S. and New Zealand.
However, the group gained notoriety last year when they wrote an open letter to bishops, priests, religious, and laity arguing that “the hierarchy has broken with the chain of command, which renders it human, and spiritually null.” In May, they went a step further, denouncing Popes Paul VI through Leo XIV as antipopes as well as the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, and even calling for an “Imperfect General Council” to make an authoritative declaration and resolve the crisis in the Church.
READ: ‘He is no pope at all’- Traditional Redemptorists reject Pope Leo XIV and predecessors
In June, the Transalpine Redemptorists announced that Fr. Michael Mary would be consecrated a bishop by Bishop Pierre Roy later this month. Bishop Gilbert responded by calling the planned consecration a “grave act of disobedience” and cautioning the faithful from attending.
“Since this consecration is due to take place within the geographical boundaries of the Diocese of Aberdeen, I am obliged to make clear to the faithful of the Diocese that any such episcopal ordination would be unlawful and a grave act of disobedience, separating those taking part from communion with the Catholic Church,” the bishop of Aberdeen said in a diocesan announcement.
“No member of the faithful should attend. This action is not ‘for the good of the Catholic Church’ as is falsely claimed,” the bishop added. “This development is greatly to be regretted and we can only pray that those concerned have a change of heart.”
READ: Head of Transalpine Redemptorists says bishop is investigating him for ‘heresy and schism’
Notably, in recent years and months several monks and priests have left the island suddenly, and on April 11, a 24-year-old monk named Brother Ignatius Maria (whose birth name was Justin Evans) went missing in the middle of the night.
After a lengthy search, Br. Ignatius’ body was found in the water off Stronsay on May 6. Scottish Police have not treated the disappearance as suspicious.
The Redemptorists have also been accused by former members of psychological manipulation, though others have said that while superiors were sometimes “quite harsh” with corrections, they believed that this came from a place of wanting to help the members “conform to the Rule and grow in Christian perfection.”