Vatican City – In recent days, specifically on June 19 and 20, 2025, the Presidency of the French Bishops' Conference (CEF) traveled to the Vatican for their customary meeting with the Pope. This time, however, the meeting bore particular significance: it was the first official audience of the Presidency with Pope Leo XIV, but also their last, taking place on the eve of the end of their mandate.
Heading the delegation was Archbishop Éric de Moulins-Beaufort of Reims, President of the CEF, accompanied by Archbishop Vincent Jordy (Tours), Bishop Dominique Blanchet (Créteil), Msgr. Hugues de Woillemont, and Mrs. Céline Reynaud-Fourton, Director of Institutional and International Affairs. The visit opened with a diplomatic meeting at the French Embassy to the Holy See and concluded with a private audience granted by the Holy Father, during which a summary of the six years of presidency was presented.
Topics addressed: from synodality to bioethics
According to the CEF’s own report, a broad range of subjects was addressed: from the fight against abuse to the increase in catechumens, from priestly formation to bioethical challenges, including solidarity, ecology, interreligious dialogue and — significantly — traditionalist communities.
On this last point, no details were provided. But the mere fact that it was explicitly mentioned in the communiqué suggests it was indeed discussed — and it is a worrying matter. The question remains: did the French bishops address it in a spirit of listening, or merely to reinforce their own biases?
Pope Leo XIV, for his part, chose to focus on three specific concerns: the ecological crisis, the growth in catechumens in France, and international tensions.
What is surprising, however, is the absence of any reference to one of the real emergencies of the French Church: priestly vocations.
A troubling document on the 2025 ordinations
In these same days, the French Bishops' Conference released its report on priestly ordinations for the year 2025. The content is alarmingly clear: the vocation crisis in France has reached an acute stage.
In 2025, only 90 priests will be ordained across all of France. Of these, just 64 are diocesan priests, while 25 come from religious communities or orders. Without these latter groups, many dioceses would have no ordinations at all. Once again, it is the Communauté Saint Martin that helps hold the line, contributing 9 ordinations alone — and standing out for its balance, pastoral vitality, and fidelity to the liturgy in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council.
And yet, this very community is currently under an apostolic visitation that was inexplicably launched and is still ongoing. The reasons remain unknown — because, quite simply, there are none. Unless we admit the unspoken yet obvious one: the Saint Martin Community works too well for those who would prefer a weary, bureaucratic clergy devoid of missionary fervor. The suspicion that this is a punitive, ideologically driven visitation rather than a pastoral one is justified. It is urgent that the Pope intervene — not only to bring an end to a baseless investigation, but to protect genuine vocations from opaque curial logics.
Notably absent: the communities linked to the traditional liturgy
There is also a glaring omission: no mention whatsoever of ordinations within traditionalist communities — those groups that regularly celebrate the Roman rite in its ancient form and are, in France, not only numerous but also notably young. These are not schismatic communities; they are fully in communion with the Pope. And yet they are systematically ignored, as though their very existence were to be erased.
Silere non possum has repeatedly pointed out that the true issue is not the choice of liturgical rite, but rather the ecclesial vitality, the youthfulness of the candidates, and the seriousness of the formative proposal these communities offer. That is what draws so many young men to them. The question thus arises: why are these communities ignored in a national report on ordinations? The answer is clear: ideology. An ideology that excludes what it cannot control, that silences what does not fit within its own cultural frameworks. And so, once again, division is fostered. The Pope’s call to unity must not be left as a dead letter.
Pope Leo XIV has spoken repeatedly, from the very first day of his pontificate, about the importance of unity in diversity. But this principle cannot remain on paper: it must become a criterion of governance in the Church. If those who lead the dicasteries act according to personal or ideological logic rather than with an ecclesial spirit, the risk is real: painful fractures and serious injustices.
The Church in France today is a complex and fragile field. Bishops can no longer afford to lead by excluding, scorning, or delegitimizing what does not align with their style. Because — let us not forget — he who divides does not come from God.
F.T.
Silere non possum