The Archbishop of Paris offers his resignation to the Pope to "preserve the diocese"

The Archbishop of Paris Michel Aupetit, in the center, during a ceremony of the Stations of the Cross as part of the celebration of Holy Easter, in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Paris, April 2, 2021. © AP Photo / Thibault camus

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1 min

The Archbishop of Paris, Michel Aupetit, implicated for having had an ambiguous relationship with a woman, presented his resignation to the Pope.

General practitioner, late vocation, Mgr Aupetit was ordained priest at 44 years old.

He was bishop of Nanterre before replacing Cardinal André Vingt-Trois in Paris, of which he was one of the close collaborators.

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This resignation request follows the

concerning an old relationship that Bishop Aupetit would have had with a woman.

Cautious, the diocese of Paris evokes an ambiguous relationship, but specifies that it was not a romantic relationship or a sexual relationship.

The Archbishop of Paris was moreover open to his hierarchy at the material time, in 2012. At the head of the most important diocese in France,

 for his part, recognizes a behavior towards vis of this woman who could imply the existence of an intimate and sexual relationship, which he strongly refutes.

The diocese insists:

 Bishop Aupetit's

is not an admission of guilt, but a gesture of humility.

Only the Pope can decide to accept the resignation.

Pope Francis is not used to reacting under pressure in these areas, as he demonstrated during

, by initially refusing his resignation.

But the records are not comparable.

The Pope can however make a quick decision, because he alone appoints the bishops and he alone has the power to remove this office from them.

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