French bishop resigned due to ‘inappropriate relationships’, Vatican confirms

Bishop Jean-Paul Gusching announced his resignation in late September, citing ‘a concerning situation requiring appropriate medical care’ and making no reference to disciplinary measures.

The Vatican said the resignation of Bishop Jean-Paul Gusching of Verdun in eastern France was prompted by reports of inappropriate relationships with women rather than solely by health concerns, as initially stated at the end of September.

In a statement on 4 November, the apostolic nunciature in France said it had received “information concerning relationships toward women by Bishop Jean-Paul Gusching, then bishop of Verdun”, which it forwarded to the Dicastery for Bishops.

According to the communiqué, despite the bishop’s “persistent denials” and the “fragmentary and contradictory” nature of the reports, he had pledged to the dicastery “to avoid in the future any behaviour toward women that could be interpreted as contrary to his priestly commitments”.

However, “given the persistence of the situation” Pope Leo XIV solicited and accepted his resignation, which took effect on 27 September. The nunciature clarified that the “health reasons publicly invoked by the prelate are only one element among others” that led to the Pope’s decision to accept the resignation.

As a precautionary measure, the Vatican has imposed on Gusching “a retired life in a place located outside both his diocese of origin, Amiens, and that of Verdun”, and instructed him “to refrain from any liturgical celebrations and public pastoral activities”.

Church authorities opened a preliminary canonical investigation, led by the Bishop Emeritus of Pontoise Stanislas Lalanne with the assistance of Archbishop Philippe Ballot of Metz, the apostolic administrator of Verdun. The nunciature also confirmed that a report was submitted to the civil authorities.

In a message to the clergy and faithful of Verdun, Ballot expressed “his closeness and support to all those who will be legitimately hurt by this information”, emphasising the Church’s duty to act transparently.

“Doing the work of truth is necessary in order to maintain the habitual trust between the faithful of Christ and those who have received the mission to be their pastors,” he wrote.

Gusching, 70, announced his resignation in late September, citing “a concerning situation requiring appropriate medical care” and making no reference to disciplinary measures.

The nunciature’s statement confirmed that the resignation was in fact requested by the Holy See following concerns about the bishop’s conduct.

“Faithful to the received tradition, the Church recalls that priests – and therefore bishops first of all – are called to live in conformity with the commitments made at the time of their ordination,” Ballot wrote in his pastoral letter, issued from Lourdes where the French bishops met for their autumn plenary assembly.

The case comes at a delicate time for the French episcopate, which has committed to addressing issues of clergy accountability with greater transparency, particularly since the publication of the 2021 report on sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.

The Church in France, long criticised for handling these issues discreetly, created the National Canonical Criminal Court in 2022 to deal with canonical offences.

Speaking to the regional daily L’Est Républicain, Gusching admitted having had a relationship for seven years, from around 2015 to 2022, which he described as consensual and with “a woman of age”.

He said he was “not proud of it” and made amends to the Holy See, but nonetheless denounced Rome’s handling of the affair as “disgusting” and claimed that “they want [his] head”, speaking of “jealousy” toward him in this case.

The canonical inquiry continues, and Church authorities have declined further comment “to preserve the serenity of the judicial process and in respect of the presumption of innocence”, the nunciature said.

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