Overview

• Paris Match published an investigation alleging that Cardinal Jean‑Marc Aveline fostered silence on multiple abuse complaints and that Vicar General Xavier Manzano overstepped mere spiritual accompaniment.
• The archdiocese issued a statement countering the magazine’s account, saying it conflates handled facts with unfounded insinuations and asserting there was no sexual violence or equivocal gestures by Manzano, with the now‑adult children attesting in writing.
• The reporting centers on dossiers linked to Auriol, the Saint‑Luc seminary in Aix‑en‑Provence, and Marseille, with L’Humanité citing a 2015 warning letter and claims of delayed responses.
• L’Humanité reports that priest Jean‑Michel Sighieri was later sentenced to two years in prison with a ban on contact with minors and that other clergy were accused of misconduct dating back decades.
• A Marseille parishioners’ collective has asked Pope Léon XIV to accept Aveline’s resignation, citing opaque governance and parish asset concerns, while no public church or civil inquiry has been announced in these reports.