The Archbishop of Toulouse (France), Mons. Guy de Kerimel, has unleashed strong criticism by appointing a priest previously convicted of the violation of a 16 -year -old teenager, causing the outrage of defenders of the victims and the local Catholic community.
The Prelate appointed Fr. Dominique Spina as Chancellor and Episcopal Delegate for marriages, with effect as of September 1, according to a decree published on June 2 on the Archdiocese website. The appointment was made public on July 7, when the regional newspaper La Dépêche du Midi He announced the news.
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Fr. Spina was sentenced in 2006 by the Tarbes Court of Appeals for the violation of a 16-year-old student in 1993, while exercising as its spiritual director at the Notre-Dame School of Bétharram. The court sentenced him to five years in prison, of which he had to meet four, with one in suspension.
The archbishop defends his decision on behalf of “mercy”
De Kerimel defended his controversial decision in a statement to the Agency France-Presse (AFP), stating that he had “opted for mercy” promoting Fr. Spina, who had worked in the diocesan archives for five years.
“It is true that Father Spina fulfilled a five -year prison sentence, including one suspended year, for very serious acts that took place almost 30 years ago,” said the archbishop, according to The world.
He justified the appointment arguing that the ecclesiastical authorities “have nothing to reproach this priest in the last 30 years.”
The archbishop added that Fr. Spina “no longer exercises any pastoral responsibility, except for the celebration of the Eucharist, only or exceptionally for the faithful.”
The appointment has generated a generalized conviction in Catholic circles.
“What is offensive is that it is a priest convicted of the violation of a minor. It is unacceptable,” said a Toulouse Catholic La Dépêche du Midi upon learning of the news on the Diocesan website.
The Chrétienne Catholic News Portal described the decision as “amazing” and pointed out that he raises “serious questions” about the coherence of the Church’s commitment in the fight against abuses, especially after the 2021 report.
The controversial appointment also raises canonical questions, since the right of the Church requires that the diocesan foreign ministers be people “impeccable and above all suspicion.”
Translated and adapted by ACI Press. Originally published in CNA.
AC Wimmer
AC Wimmer is a founder in the founder of CNA Deutsch. This Australian polyglot, raised in Bavaria and South Africa, occupied high positions in the SBS of Australia and was editor in chief of the historic Münchner Kirchenzeitung. Bachelor of Chinese Philosophy and Studies from the University of Melbourne, Anian Christoph Wimmer – Chinese Name 刘威猛 – was part of the jury of the Media Prize of the German Episcopal Conference, is former honorary researcher in communications at the University of Melbourne and was part of the Caritas Council in Munich.