French archbishop names convicted rapist as chancellor
July 09, 2025
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CWN Editor's Note: Archbishop Guy Andre Marie de Kerimel of Toulouse has named Father Dominique Spina—a priest whose ministry has been restricted following a criminal conviction on a rape charge—as chancellor of the archdiocese.
Father Spina was sentenced to a five-year prison term after his 2006 conviction for raping a teenage boy.
Archbishop Kerimel said that because Father Spina “no longer exercises any pastoral responsibility,” he had “taken the side of mercy” by giving him a chancery assignment.
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Posted by: grateful1 -
Jul. 11, 2025 9:35 PM ET USA
As if the Church in France -- and throughout the world -- weren't suffering enough already.
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Posted by: feedback -
Jul. 09, 2025 11:24 PM ET USA
Archbishop Kerimel had not taken "the side of mercy" but the side of scandal. Now everyone knows that the chancellor of the Archdiocese of Toulouse is not only gay but a convicted gay rapist.
