In recent weeks, two European dioceses have informed the Institute of the Incarnate Word (IVE) that it will not be able to continue its pastoral presence in the future: Turin, in Italy, and Granada, in Spain. Although the priests of the Institute are currently still in their respective destinations, the expulsion notices have already been delivered and the news has been made public in both cases.
In Turin, the information was disseminated by La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana on June 11, 2025. According to the media, Archbishop Roberto Repole would have considered that the pastoral style of the priests of the IVE did not fit with the path promoted by the diocese. The religious would not have received detailed explanations or opportunity for dialogue; they were simply told that they had to leave at the end of their term.
In Granada, the decision is already public knowledge, although no official statement has been issued by the archbishopric. Sources close to the IVE confirm that they have been informed that they will have to leave the diocese. For now, they continue to exercise their ministry, but their expulsion has already been communicated.
These two expulsions, as recent as they are significant, revive the debate on the place of religious institutes with markedly divisive profiles. The formative style, pastoral theology and the way of inserting oneself in the dioceses of the IVE generate mixed reactions: for some, they represent a firm and orthodox response in times of confusion; for others, a form of rigidity that hinders ecclesial communion.
The truth is that, little by little, the Institute seems to be losing space in dioceses that are looking for a less conflictive and more inclusive ecclesial model. And this phenomenon does not seem to be isolated.
Leave a Reply