Scandalous case of Cardinal Ricard – background and connections. Cardinal can still participate in Conclave.

On the occasion of Pope Francis' recent visit to Marseille, at the end of an article in the newspaper Libération from September 22, 2023, information was read that has not yet been publicly announced by Rome.

Bernadette Sauvaget, the author of the article, writes that the Vatican recently imposed sanctions on Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, a native of Marseille. Cardinal Ricard, who was Archbishop of Bordeaux from 2001 to 2019 and chairman of the French Bishops' Conference for several years, admitted at the end of 2022 that he had sexually molested a 14-year-old girl in the 1980s, when he was episcopal vicar in the Archdiocese of Marseille. The term “abuse”, which is often used in this case, now suggests to the collective perception that incidents are too serious to really seem appropriate. The then pastor of the Archdiocese of Marseille “hugged and kissed” the girl, who he only later found out was a minor. The cardinal himself called his behavior “reprehensible.”

The nature of the public debate about sexual abuse in the church, which is primarily determined by circles outside the church, also leads to a worrying distortion of perception within the Catholic Church: some seem convinced in their outrage that an inappropriate act is more reprehensible than denial of one Truth of faith. This is where cause and effect are confused.

The French public prosecutor's office opened an investigation against Cardinal Ricard, which it closed again at the beginning of 2023 because the matter was time-barred.

However, the ecclesiastical proceedings, for which the statute of limitations should no longer apply, continued and resulted in the conviction of the cardinal, who, according to Liberátion, was banned from publicly celebrating the liturgy for five years.

The Cardinal was made emeritus by Pope Francis in 2019 as soon as he reached the age of 75. A sign that he was not part of Santa Marta's inner circle of “friends”. After all, Cardinal Ricard had under Pope Benedict XVI. celebrated in the traditional rite and the motherhouse of the ancient ritual Institut du Bon Pasteur was canonically established in his diocese. However, under Pope Francis, as part of his “policy of détente” and as a “friendly gesture”, he also visited a Masonic lodge in Bordeaux.

His conviction also does not indicate a preferred "wire" to the Holy See, not in the matter, but in comparison to serious cases of abuse that are not or hardly punished because Santa Marta and his "magic circle" hold a protective hand over them. The disciplinary department of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (formerly the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) examines in detail and makes its judgments, but not everyone is executed, because this is a question of contacts with Santa Marta. This was recently shown in the case of the now former Jesuit Marko Ivan Rupnik, who was even subjected to excommunication by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for serious crimes, but then miraculously disappeared.

Yesterday the information was confirmed by La Croix, the daily newspaper of the French bishops. The now 79-year-old cardinal was banned from carrying out any public celebration outside his home diocese for a period of five years. The verdict was handed down in late spring. It means that Ricard remains a cardinal and a priest, but is no longer allowed to exercise his priesthood publicly during the period mentioned. The ruling provides for an exception: it allows the purple bearer to continue to perform liturgical service in the diocese of Digne, which he has chosen as his retirement home, provided that the local diocesan bishop, Msgr. Emmanuel Gobilliard, grants permission to do so.

Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline explained what this means to La Croix. “Cardinal Ricard lives in complete seclusion and is intelligent enough to understand that he must keep a low profile.” Aveline belongs to the circle of prelates who are more popular in Santa Marta. He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop by Pope Francis at the end of 2013 and Archbishop of Marseille in 2019. In 2020, Francis appointed him a member of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (now the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue) and in 2022 a member of the Dicastery for Bishops (formerly the Congregation for Bishops). Last year he finally made him a cardinal.

Inquiring with Bishop Gobilliard brought clarity. The judgement is one thing, the application is another: Bishop Gobilliard told La Croix: "I do not agree that Cardinal Ricard is currently celebrating in the diocese of Digne, and I have told him so. I want the sanctions to be applied here as well." Pointing out to Gobilliard that should the cardinal move to another diocese and be allowed to celebrate there, "I cannot stop him," the local Bishop indicated that Cardinal Ricard was an uninvited guest.

The latter signalled that he had understood the message. He did not want to comment on it, but to do what he had been asked to do and "not to spark or stir up controversy".

The Cardinal is entitled to attend a conclave until 26 September 2024, his 80th birthday. 

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