Scottish bishop declares Transalpine Redemptorist founder excommunicated following consecration

ABERDEEN, Scotland (LifeSiteNews) — Bishop Hugh Gilbert, OSB, of Aberdeen, Scotland, declared Bishop Michael Mary Sim, FSSR, the founder and superior general of the Congregation of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer, excommunicated following his illicit episcopal consecration over the weekend and over previous statements declaring that Popes Paul VI through Leo XIV are not true popes.

In a July 25 diocesan statement, Gilbert announced that the diocese had completed its canonical proceedings against Sim and that he had found the superior general guilty of schism, and emphasized that he is now “excommunicated, dismissed from ecclesiastical office, and prohibited from the celebration of Mass or the other sacraments.” The bishop also declared that, as a result of the consecration, all members of the Transalpine Redemptorists “have removed themselves from the communion of the Catholic Church” and urged that “the faithful of the Diocese should have no dealings with them.”

That same day, Sim, whose order had 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,” was consecrated a bishop by Bishop Pierre Roy.

Gilbert opened his announcement by underscoring Sim’s various statements affirming that Pope Leo is not the true pontiff, casting doubt on the validity of the post-conciliar rite of ordination, discussing opposition between the “old” and “new” church, among others.

“All of this is instinctively repugnant to the Catholic sense of the faith, exposes those involved to ecclesiastical penalties and, unless repudiated, separates them from the communion of the Catholic Church,” he wrote.

READ: Meet the head of the Transalpine Redemptorists who called out the ‘Synodal Church’

“On its side, the Diocese has now completed its canonical process and pronounced its judgment. Regrettably, I find Fr. Michael Mary guilty of the charges brought against him, most notably that of schism,” the bishop stated, adding:

In accordance with the relevant canonical norms, the competent Dicasteries of the Roman Curia have been kept informed of the steps taken by the Diocese. In the event of a sincere change of heart on his part and the making of reparation, these penalties may be lifted.

Addressing the consecrations specifically, the bishop noted that Sim did not have his permission or the proper papal mandate, and stressed that this demonstrated “a clear break from the Church.”

“By means of these events, the Congregation and its now deposed Superior have removed themselves from the communion of the Catholic Church, and the faithful of the Diocese should have no dealings with them,” the bishop wrote.

“On her part the Church urgently invites those involved to repent and to return to that union which they once enjoyed. The Church, who is the Mother of us all, will welcome them warmly,” he concluded.

The Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer, or Transalpine Redemptorists, is a small community of just over two dozen priests and brothers who live on a remote island north of Scotland called Papa Stronsay (or Golgotha Monastery Island). The group was founded by then-Father Michael Mary Sim 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 its founder would be consecrated a bishop by Bishop Roy. Bishop Gilbert responded by calling the planned consecration a “grave act of disobedience” and cautioning the faithful from attending.

Prior to Saturday’s consecration, Gilbert granted permission for two Redemptorist priests, Father Yousef Marie, FSSR, and Father Peter Mary, FSSR, 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 the small hamlet of Fetternear every Sunday, expanding on his prior permission for the Latin Mass to be celebrated at the parish once a month.

READ: Scottish bishop allows two Transalpine Redemptorist priests to offer weekly Latin Mass

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 Transalpine 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.”