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Pope Francis accepts French archbishop's resignation

May 27, 2023

Strasbourg Archbishop Luc Ravel had been accused of having an authoritarian style, which alienated many parishioners and other Catholic Church officials.

https://p.dw.com/p/4RtdB
Archbishop Luc Ravel during a mass
Archbishop Luc Ravel had led the diocese of Strausburg since 2017Image: Nicolas Roses/abaca/picture alliance

The archbishop of the French city of Strasbourg, Luc Ravel, submitted his resignation to Pope Francis, after being accused of misconduct. 

Pope Francis accepted the resignation, the Bishops' Conference of France said on Saturday. Ravel had held the post since 2017.

It all comes on the heels of an investigation ordered by the Vatican in 2022 into the Strasbourg diocese, which represents about 1.3 million Catholics.

Catholics in the border region of Alsace close to Germany and Switzerland had complained about Ravel's authoritarian style, which alienated many parishioners and other church officials; Ravel had previously been a bishop in the military.

He was especially resented for removing women and laypeople from different councils in his diocese, as well as installing traditionalist priests with opinions counter to their congregations, Marcel Metzger, a theologian and professor at the University of Strasbourg, told AFP last month.

Ravel was also criticized for dismissing the finance director of the diocese and an auxiliary bishop within the space of little over a year.

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Pope Francis is said to have asked the archbishop to resign, according to local media reports, but Ravel allegedly did not comply for some time. 

But, on April 20, Ravel said he had "presented my resignation to the Holy Father," without giving further details.

"The Holy Father and the President of the Republic [Emmanuel Macron] have jointly accepted the resignation" of Luc Ravel, the Bishops' Conference of France said in a statement on Saturday, over a month later. 

Francis appointed Philippe Ballot, the archbishop of the nearby of Metz, as administrator of the diocese, "awaiting the appointment of the next archbishop of Strasbourg," the statement added.

Under an old treaty known as the Concordat, which dates back to Napoleon I, the French government officially appoints an archbishop of Strasbourg and Metz chosen by the Vatican.

jcg/msh (AFP, AP, dpa, KNA)