Pope Francis and Emmanuel Macron have jointly accepted the resignation of the archbishop of Strasbourg, Mgr Luc Ravel, much criticized for his governance, announced the Conference of Bishops of France in a statement unveiled on Saturday.
In Alsace-Moselle, the concordat of 1801 is still in force and the Archbishop of Strasbourg is both appointed by the Vatican and by a decree signed by the Presidency of the Republic, then published in the Official Journal.
"The Holy Father has appointed Monsignor Philippe Ballot, Archbishop-Bishop of Metz, Apostolic Administrator of Strasbourg," the statement continued. It specifies that "the episcopal see is therefore vacant, pending the appointment of the next archbishop" of Strasbourg, whose diocese represents about 1.3 million Catholics.
Overwhelmed by cases of sexual violence
In a statement sent to AFP on April 20, Luc Ravel - who was the target of an inspection ordered by the Vatican after criticism of his governance deemed solitary and authoritarian by some faithful, priests and collaborators - announced that he had submitted his "resignation to the Holy Father", without detailing the reasons. On the other hand, he defended his years spent in the diocese of Strasbourg, where he arrived in 2017, including his management of cases related to sexual violence in the Church.
" READ ALSO "I am no longer Catholic": revolted by sexual abuse, these faithful turn their backs on the Church
In an interview granted earlier this week to the Christian weekly La Vie, Luc Ravel, who had not spoken publicly for many months, had broken his silence, defending once again his action on sexual violence, while conceding to have "been overwhelmed by all these cases" which "took him an infinite time". By the end of 2020, he had put in place a "Code of Pastoral Relations" aimed at "helping our priests to refer victims" who reveal to them that they have suffered abuse.
"I was stripped by the pain and mystery of evil. I confess that I should have been accompanied more personally, including psychologically, "said Luc Ravel to La Vie.
