On Monday, the diocese announced that six members of the"Missionaries of Divine Mercy" will be ordained deacons on 1 December.
According to the community, the Vatican had previously blocked the ordinations for months.
There were concerns as to whether they would be allowed to celebrate the liturgy in the usual form before the liturgical reform after their ordination.
Coadjutor Bishop Francois Touvet spoke of a "result of a trusting and peaceful dialogue between the superiors of the community and the Dicastery for Divine Worship". He welcomed the outcome and emphasised that he respected the different attitudes to liturgical norms in the diocese. "It is of the utmost importance that we continue our work for unity," said Touvet.
Post-conciliar liturgy and authority of the bishop recognised
The bishop had committed himself to the Missionaries of Divine Mercy "with pastoral determination and fatherly care".
Founded in Toulon in 2005, the community recognises the liturgy in its reformed form after the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and has sought "genuine integration into diocesan life under the authority of the bishop" since its foundation. Its aim is to realise its three charisms: mercy, the celebration of Mass in the pre-conciliar form and mission, especially among Muslims.
The community is governed by diocesan law and is therefore subordinate to the diocesan bishop.
Pope Francis severely restricted the celebration of the pre-conciliar liturgy in 2021. Priests who want to celebrate services according to the 1962 missals after the new regulations come into force need special permission.
According to the Missionaries of Divine Mercy, Rome therefore had reservations about the ordinations. It is not clear from the diocese's statement whether the Roman authorisation of the ordinations is accompanied by conditions for the newly ordained.
An unusually high number of ordinations until 2022
Touvet was appointed coadjutor bishop of Frejus-Toulon by Pope Francis in 2023. This means that he will replace the diocesan bishop Dominique Rey, who is still in office, and will be responsible for the training of seminarians, clergy and religious orders, among other things.
The Vatican had scrutinised Rey's conduct in office in 2022 and 2023 with apostolic visitations and temporarily banned the ordination of seminarians in the diocese after there were doubts about the care taken in the admission of men to ordination. Before 2022, an unusually high number of priests were ordained in the diocese.
Rey had a large number of religious orders and spiritual communities from the charismatic and traditionalist spectrum based in his diocese.
There were accusations of sectarian practices and spiritual or sexual abuse of power by founding figures or other members of their clergy against communities based in the diocese.