Archbishop of Strasbourg finally throws in the towel

Archbishop of Strasbourg resigns after Vatican inspection of his governance

"I have presented my resignation to the Holy Father, for whom I pray every day," Archbishop Luc Ravel said in a statement. The reason for his ouster remains unknown.

The Archbishop of Strasbourg Luc Ravel announced his resignation in a statement sent to AFP on Thursday. He had been targeted by an inspection ordered by the Vatican after criticism of his governance.

"Peace being the supreme good (...), I have presented my resignation to the Holy Father, for whom I pray every day", writes Monsignor Ravel in this press release.

I have always acted as closely as possible to the law and to my conscience.

Luc Ravel, resigning Archbishop of Strasbourg

The clergyman did not reveal the reasons for his resignation but suggested that his ouster was linked to his handling of cases of sexual abuse in the Church.

"I have always acted as closely as possible to the law and to my conscience, having consulted extensively on each decision, in order to take difficult measures, but which I would have been reproached for not having taken later, in view of the elements in my possession," he said. "The penal implications of a certain number of cases are a matter for the judicial institution," he continued, "For the rest, the pontifical secret, which we have to respect, is a matter for the Apostolic Nuncio.

A management judged to be solitary and authoritarian

Under the concordat regime in Alsace-Moselle, the archbishop of Strasbourg is appointed by decree of the President of the Republic, after a decision by the Holy See. Criticism of his management of the diocese, described as solitary and authoritarian by certain collaborators, priests and faithful, went all the way to Rome, and led the Pope to order a general inspection in June 2022.

Since then, its results had not been communicated, fuelling local discontent. About fifteen Catholics demonstrated in front of the cathedral to demand the departure of this former bishop of the armed forces, appointed in Strasbourg in 2017. A petition demanding his resignation had also gathered more than a thousand signatures on Thursday.

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