Angers, France: Priest convicted of child pornography will not be a Chancellery Notary

Bishop Delmas, Bishop of Angers, has more common sense than Bishop Kerimel, Bishop of Toulouse. While the latter persisted for a month and a half in promoting a priest convicted of raping a minor as chancellor, against his own faithful, common sense, and even mercy, which he attempted to rewrite in his own way, the Bishop of Angers, a few days after the media coverage of the appointment of a priest convicted of child pornography, renounced the appointment of him as a chancellery notary—a position in which canon law requires people to be "above suspicion"—and stripped him of his other duties.

It didn't take the CEF writing to the Bishop of Angers—a historic step if ever there was one—or another bishop stepping up to the plate: after the media coverage of the affair, and despite the fact that the diocese, which was on vacation, was largely absent, the bishop took responsibility: "Aware that the responsibilities entrusted to him, including that of notary and delegate for the social protection of the clergy, could cause misunderstanding and were likely to add to the confusion of the faithful, Bishop Emmanuel Delmas and the priest in question decided by mutual agreement to relinquish them. His responsibilities ceased as of Tuesday, August 12," Ouest-France reports.

Mediapart even states on this subject that the diocese decided "to remove from him the various diocesan responsibilities they had previously entrusted to him." The prelate is not only resigning from his newly acquired position as delegate for the social protection of the clergy, he is also renouncing older positions he had held since completing his two-year prison sentence, four of which were suspended.

According to the diocesan directory, Father Renaud, for example, held the positions of chaplain and notary (drafting the diocese's legal documents) in 2025. "Neither of these positions involves contact with minors," the diocese states, while explaining that both Bishop Delmas and Father Renaud, 76, have come to realize that these positions "could cause misunderstanding and were likely to add to the confusion of the faithful."

What should be done with priests convicted of abuse? It took four more days of isolation and pride for Bishop de Kerimel in Toulouse to make a similar decision and renounce the appointment of Father Spina as chancellor. The nagging question of whether this priest should not be dismissed from the lay state remains. It is never too late to do the right thing—or for him to write to Pope Leo XIV to be relieved of his vows.

The two cases—of Father Renaud in Angers and Father Spina in Toulouse—also raise the question of how to monitor priests (and lay people on Church missions) who commit abuse, and the charges that may or may not be assigned to them. At the very least, making public the canonical sanctions against priests—which are largely kept confidential even today—and refraining from appointing priests convicted of abuse and delicta graviora to canonical offices or public prosecutors are solutions that make perfect sense. Before considering the systematic referral to the lay state of priests convicted of abuse of minors or adults, the abandonment of the canonical prescription which is today the subject of multiple misappropriations, and the systematic publicity of the facts alleged and the sanctions, canonical and penal.

Source