Pope Francis on Monday named a
temporary replacement for a French bishop who has gone on leave
after being found guilty of covering up sex abuse.
Mons. Michel Dubost, emeritus bishop of
Evry-Crobeil-Essonnes, has been named apostolic administrator of
the diocese of Lyon.
He replaces Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, who was sentenced to
six months in jail for covering up a string of sex-abuse cases
in the eastern French city.
Barbarin recently tendered his resignation but Pope Francis
did not accept it.
Instead, he allowed the cardinal to "retreat for a period of
time", as the cardinal also had asked.
In March Barbarin was found guilty of failing to report
sexual abuse of minors in the 1970s and '80s at the scout camps
of Father Bernard Preyna, and sentenced to six months in jail.
But "the Holy Father has left Cardinal Barbarin free to take
the best decision for the Diocese and Cardinal Barbarin has
decided to retire for a period of time," Vatican Spokesman
Alessandro Gisotti said.
Barbarin, 68, was sentenced to six months in jail by a Lyon
court on March 7.
It was a conditional sentence.
Barbarin tendered his resignation as archbishop after the
sentence.
The Catholic Church has been roiled by abuse scandals and
in February a Vatican summit of world bishops vowed zero
tolerance on the issue.
Also in February, former Vatican No.3 George Pell became the
top Catholic Church figure to be convicted of sex abuse of
minors, in his native Australia.
He was found guilty of raping two choirboys in 1996 and was
sentenced to six years in jail.
He is appealing.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
