Toulouse, France, archbishop names rape-convicted priest as chancellor

Archbishop Guy de Kerimel of Toulouse, France. / Credit: Paralacre, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

CNA Newsroom, Jul 9, 2025 / 09:20 am (CNA).

The archbishop of Toulouse, France, has drawn fierce criticism for appointing a priest previously convicted of raping a 16-year-old boy to serve as diocesan chancellor, sparking outrage from victims’ advocates and the local Catholic community.

Archbishop Guy de Kerimel named Father Dominique Spina as chancellor and episcopal delegate for marriages, effective Sept. 1, according to a decree published June 2 on the archdiocese’s website. The appointment became public knowledge on July 7, when the regional newspaper La Dépêche du Midi broke the story.

Spina was convicted in 2006 by the Tarbes Court of Appeals for raping a 16-year-old student in 1993 while serving as the boy’s spiritual director at Notre-Dame de Bétharram school. The court sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment, with four years to be served and one year suspended.

Archbishop defends ‘mercy‘ decision

De Kerimel defended his controversial choice in a statement to Agence France-Presse, saying he had “taken the side of mercy” in promoting Spina, who had worked in diocesan archives for five years.

“It is true that Father Spina served a five-year prison sentence, including one year suspended, for very serious acts that took place nearly 30 years ago,” the archbishop said, according to Le Monde.

He justified the appointment by arguing that Church officials “have nothing to reproach this priest for in the last 30 years.”

The archbishop added that Spina “no longer exercises pastoral responsibility, other than celebrating the Eucharist, alone or exceptionally for the faithful.”

The appointment has generated widespread condemnation within Catholic circles.

“What is offensive is that this is a priest who was convicted of rape of a minor. It’s unacceptable,” one Toulouse Catholic told La Dépêche du Midi after learning of the news on the diocesan website.

Catholic news portal Tribune Chrétienne described the decision as causing “astonishment” and raising “serious questions” about the coherence of the Church’s commitment to fighting abuse following the 2021 CIASE report.

The controversial appointment also raises canonical questions. Church law requires diocesan chancellors to be “of unimpaired reputation and above all suspicion.”