He lasted a little over a year before retiring. Tuesday January 7 in the morning, the controversial bishop of the diocese of Fréjus-Toulon, Mgr Dominique Rey, sent his resignation to Pope Francis, who accepted it immediately. It is that this gesture of Mgr Rey was hoped for by Rome, where the management of his diocese was not appreciated, considered more than hazardous. On the menu of criticisms made against the southern bishop: catastrophic finances, welcoming priests rejected everywhere else, loss of control over the communities established in his diocese or even the number of traditional masses…
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To the point that the Pope prohibited this bishop from ordaining new priests in June 2022. The sovereign pontiff also initiated an apostolic investigation which resulted in the appointment by the Vatican, in November 2023, of a coadjutor , sort of number one bis, in the person of Mgr François Touvet. So it’s been a little over a year since Mgr Rey, 72, is placed under guardianship, cohabiting with another bishop responsible for governing the diocese in his place. Officially, Mgr Rey could have stayed until 2027, when he retires. Unofficially, the Holy See was only waiting for one thing: for the historic bishop of Fréjus-Toulon, in this untenable situation, to resign of his own accord. What he refused to do until now.
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