Published: Less than 40 min ago
The accusations against former Archbishop Michel Aupetit of sexual abuse against a “vulnerable person” are being investigated by French authorities.
The preliminary investigation was opened after the Archdiocese of Paris submitted a report.
Aupetit voluntarily resigned at the end of 2021 after media reports that he had an intimate relationship with a woman in 2012, before taking office – which he has categorically denied.
Pope Francis approved the resignation.
French BFMTV reported that the relationship involved a vulnerable person under legal protection. According to AFP’s sources, the investigation includes e-mail conversations between Aupetit and the woman.
Aupetit’s lawyer has declined to comment on the case.
A spokesperson for the archdiocese said in 2021 that it was neither a love relationship nor a sexual relationship. The offer to resign was not an acknowledgment either, but a “humble gesture” and an invitation to dialogue, according to the spokesperson.
Aupetit was archbishop in 2019 when Notre-Dame was ravaged by fire and was then regularly seen on television.
For priests in the Roman Catholic Church, celibacy is mandatory.