Overview

• A June 4 decree named Father Dominique Spina—convicted in 2006 for raping a 16-year-old in 1993—as diocesan chancellor and episcopal delegate for marriages effective September 1.
• Spina served five years in prison following his 2006 appellate conviction at the Tarbes assizes and has worked in the diocesan archives since 2020.
• Diocesan statutes assign the chancellor responsibility for establishing and preserving the archbishop’s official acts and advising on sacramental administration.
• Archbishop Guy de Kérimel said he chose mercy over punitive measures, citing the absence of new allegations in the past 30 years.
• The survivor support group Parler et Revivre and the outlet Tribune chrétienne criticized the move as inconsistent with post-CIASE reforms and harmful to victims’ healing.