If we weren’t talking about a man of the church on whom the Christian precept rests pardonone could say that of Monsignor Michel Aupetit It’s one of those stories worth using the phrase “cry for revenge” for. And on the other hand, as CS Lewis argued, the only Christian virtue more unpopular than forgiving one’s enemies chastity.
A disgraced bishop
The problems of Monsignor Aupetit, Archbishop of Paris Despite his conservative profile since 2017, in November 2021 they began an investigation into the weekly newspaper Le Point, which accused him of having had a relationship with a woman in 2012, the then Primate of France sent his resignation in the Vatican. And Francesco surprisingly accepted her. Paradoxically, however, on the return flight from the apostolic trip to Greece and Cyprus, the Pope defended the prelate, claiming that he had been condemned by “public opinion” and “chatter.”
Furthermore, Bergoglio revealed unknown details of the accusations made against Aupetit, taking them for granted: “It was his violation of the sixth commandment, but not completely. The little caresses that Massages what he did to the secretary.” Finally, he claimed that “a man whose glory has been taken away in this way cannot govern,” and although he saw this as an “injustice,” he announced that he was resigning ” not on the altar of truth, but on the altar ofhypocrisy“.
The investigation
But the problems for the former Archbishop of Paris did not end there resignation. After the outcry over the publication of Le Point and the Pope’s words, in December 2022 the Paris public prosecutor’s office actually opened an investigation against him with the hypothesis sexual violence to the detriment of a vulnerable person.
The judges took action after receiving notification from the Archdiocese of Paris that a letter had arrived at the archbishop’s headquarters detailing an alleged assault that occurred several years ago. It was Aupetit himself who, at the time of his administration, applied this procedure in the name of zero tolerance for possible abuses committed. The alleged victim would have been a woman who was under legal protection precisely because she was recognized vulnerable person.
No crime
In the last few days there was news that the public prosecutor’s office had closed the file because “there was no crime.” On the other hand, the woman concerned denied sexual assault and did not comment Complaint. Aupetit himself had denied the existence of one to the judges sentimental relationship with the woman mentioned in the letter to the archdiocese. The investigation was therefore closed to the satisfaction of his defense lawyer, Jean Reinhart, who explained how the religious man experienced the matter “with calm” because he was sure that without measures it would not have been possible to close it.
However, the news is the closure The fact that the investigation was intensified due to the absence of a crime went largely unnoticed in the French press.
The consequences of “chatter”
But not everything ends well. Only 72 years old, Michel Aupetit, who was Primate of France, finds himself in peace, despite a curriculum that ruined his name the day after his appointment in Paris by predicting a purple that would never come justified in a future conclave. Matteo Matzuzzi noted in Il Foglio that two years after these resignations, which the Pope promptly accepted, “the most serious and notorious accusation was made. On the other hand, a bishop who was very unwelcome in certain areas of Parisian culture was prematurely “retired on the altar of ‘hypocrisy’ ‘for gossip’.” The chatter This affected not only the prelate, but also the women close to him: the Pope’s words on the flight back from Athens had drawn attention to the secretary, who had allegedly received caresses and massages from the archbishop.
In reality, as Aupetit made clear, Francis caused confusion because the secretary – married and with a family – had absolutely nothing to do with the behavior that could have led to confusion and because of which the archbishop chose to resign when the controversy broke out. In fact, the massage was given to a friend of hers who was suffering from back pain. It must be remembered that before being ordained, Aupetit was a doctor and had eleven years of professional experience as a doctor Jerome Lejeunethe French pediatrician who discovered Down syndrome and is recognized as a venerable by the Catholic Church (for his story “Jérôme Lejeune. The Freedom of the Scientist,” Cantagalli, by Aude Dugast).
The secretary who had access to the archbishop’s email inbox only intervened in the affair because she was able to read the email between Aupetit and this woman, which probably referred to the archbishop massage.
The morbidity surrounding the archbishop’s private life then focused on the Belgian theologian and consecrated virgin, Laetitia Calmeyn We had a relationship with him that was characterized by appreciation and friendship. Although she had nothing to do with the story of the email that led to the archbishop’s resignation, the woman ended up in the French newspapers and the photo of her walk was published by the weekly The Paris Match with the headline “Monsignor Aupetit lost.” published Love“.
injustice
Francis had said he thought it was “an injustice.” resignation to punish von Aupetit and accept her “on the altar of hypocrisy,” because “a man whose glory has been taken away in this way cannot govern.” The list of bishops who are much talked about but who have remained in government positions is not short. Now that the French justice system has restored Aupetit’s fame by closing the only ongoing investigation against him, there will definitely be a… Compensation “on the altar of truth”?
Francis was the pope who, amid a hostile media campaign on the issue, had the courage to dedicate a meditation on the Stations of the Cross to the story of a priest who was wrongly accused of abuse and subsequently released ten years of imprisonment. This kind of injustice is a form of martyrdom of today and the red of the martyr’s blood is exactly what is symbolized by the color purple. The cardinalize Wouldn’t this be a good signal for Aupetit, who died in Paris during his mandate, against the chatter aimed at harming the Church, its women and men, which often comes from within the Church itself?