Barbarin removes four priests from ministry

Cardinal Philippe Barbarin has removed from ministry four priests accused of sexual abuse after their cases were reviewed by a new panel examining paedophilia cases in his Lyon archdiocese, writes Tom Heneghan. A statement from the archdiocese said that “the facts are known to justice authorities in all these situations”, and the priests also faced canonical disciplinary measures. It did not name the priests.

French media reports said all four had been investigated by judicial authorities, even if their cases were not brought to trial for lack of evidence or because the statute of limitations had passed. An appeals court ruled last month that such cases have no time limit. Fr Bernard Preynat, whose  abuse cases led to a crisis in the archdiocese earlier this year, was not on this list, having already been removed from ministry.