Bishop needed Vatican pressure before sacking convicted rapist

Toulouse: The Vatican blocked the promotion of a priest convicted of rape

The promotion of priest Dominique Spina, convicted in 2006 of raping a minor, was finally canceled at the request of the Archbishop of Toulouse, Guy de Kerimel, after the Vatican intervened.

After several weeks of controversy surrounding the appointment of a priest convicted of raping a minor to the position of chancellor of his diocese, the Archbishop of Toulouse has finally reversed course. According to Le Parisien, Monsignor Guy de Kerimel made this decision under the influence of the Holy See.

At the end of June, the Archbishop of Toulouse appointed Father Dominique Spina as chancellor, a position responsible for managing the diocese's activities, such as baptisms, marriages, and deaths. This appointment sparked outrage: Spina had been convicted in 2006 of rape of a minor, presented by Father Silvert-Carricart, director of Notre-Dame de Bétharram, where 217 complaints from former students had been filed. After his sentence, he was assigned as an archivist in Toulouse, but his promotion at the beginning of the summer rekindled the victims' anger.

Hervé Giraud, Bishop of Viviers, publicly opposed this decision, a first in the history of the Church in France, criticizing the Archbishop of Toulouse at the end of July. The French Bishops' Conference (CEF) also issued a statement stating that it had engaged in "constructive dialogue" with Guy de Kerimel to encourage him to "reconsider his decision."

"A decision of the Holy See"

On Saturday, August 16, Monsignor Guy de Kerimel issued two statements announcing that he was reversing his decision. "My decision had been interpreted by many as a snub to the victims of sexual abuse," he wrote, asking for "forgiveness" from the victims. He emphasized that his gesture also represented "hope" for "the perpetrators of abuse who had served their time and are experiencing a very trying social death," and apologized to Dominique Spina, acknowledging that he had not given him "the rightful place to which he is entitled" while praising his "openness of heart."

According to Le Parisien, it took direct intervention from the Vatican to make the archbishop reverse his decision. "The pressure came directly from the banks of the Tiber," confided a source close to the negotiations with the Toulouse prelate. The message apparently did not come from the Dicastery for Bishops, now without a leader since the election of the new pope in May. "It came from elsewhere, from the Holy See," the source said, without being able to confirm whether the order came directly from the pope.

When contacted, the Archbishop of Toulouse indicated that he wanted to "take a break" on the matter, as did Celestino Migliore, the Apostolic Nuncio, who referred to the CEF press release.

Source