Paris archbishop offers to resign after reports on private life emerge

The Archbishop of Paris, Michel Aupetit, has offered his resignation to Pope Francis due to his "ambiguous behaviour" with a woman, his diocese announced on Friday. 

The archbishop of Paris, Michel Aupetit, put his professional fate in the hands of the pope after details about his private life were leaked to the press. REUTERS/Benoît Tessier

Aupetit wrote to the pope this week offering to step down following an investigation by Le Point magazine earlier this month, a diocese spokeswoman said.

"He had ambiguous behaviour with a person he was very close to," the spokeswoman said, adding that it was "not a loving relationship", nor sexual.

Le diocèse de Paris qu’il dirige depuis plus de trois ans et demi traverse une crise majeure, et c’est bien lui qui est dans le viseur.
Enquête sur les mystères de Mgr Aupetit 👉 https://t.co/E8Cwk3pVEG pic.twitter.com/QWQCdzzjBJ

— Le Point (@LePoint) November 23, 2021

The offer to resign was "not a confession of guilt, but a humble gesture, an offer of dialogue," she added.

Clerical Celibacy

Catholic priests are bound to celibacy under church doctrine and are meant to practice sexual abstinence.

The French church is still recovering from the publication in October of a devastating report by the Ciase, an independent commission which estimated that Catholic clergy had abused 216,000 children since 1950.

Dealing with the avalanche of revelations about sexual abuse by priests was one of the biggest challenges that Francis faced when he was elected pope in 2013.

• French bishops meet to consider responsibility, compensation for child sex abuse

(With AFP)