Archbishop of Paris, Michel Aupetit, submitted his resignation after media reports of an intimate affair with a woman in 2012. In a letter to Pope Francis, the 70-year-old clergyman pleaded guilty to “occult behavior that year,” the capital’s diocese said French.
“He himself suggested to the Pope that he accept his resignation in a private letter earlier this week,” the diocese said. The diocese added: “Only the Pope can decide whether to accept or reject the resignation. In 2012, the man’s relationship was ‘mysterious’ with someone very close to him.”
On Wednesday, the Le Point website reported an intimate and mutual relationship between a man and a woman. The relationship came to light from a misleading email that left no doubt as to the existence of the relationship. “It was not an emotional or sexual relationship,” the parishioner asserted. Then he reported it to his boss at the time.
According to the diocese, the request to resign is not an admission of guilt, but a gesture of humility because Auppetit realized that there could be resentment among Catholics in Paris and the surrounding area.
Aupetit has been Archbishop of Paris since January 2018.
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