Pope accepts resignation of Paris archbishop, who denies accusations

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Archbishop Michel Aupetit of Paris, who had offered to step down to avoid "becoming a source of divisions," after an article in the Le Point weekly claimed he mismanaged his archdiocese and had an affair with a woman while he was vicar general.

The pope also named retired Archbishop Georges Pontier to temporarily lead the archdiocese as the apostolic administrator; the 78-year-old archbishop had served as apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Avignon from January to July after deep divisions and financial difficulties lead to the early retirement of Archbishop Jean-Pierre Marie Cattenoz.

The Vatican made the announcement Dec. 2.

Archbishop Aupetit, 70, had told France's Catholic La Croix daily Nov. 26 he had submitted his resignation to the pope and awaited his answer, adding that his behavior toward the unnamed woman "may have been ambiguous," but had not extended to "an intimate relationship and sexual relations."

"I've put my position in the Holy Father's hands to preserve the diocese, since I should serve unity as a bishop," the archbishop had told La Croix. "This is not because of what I should or should not have done in the past, but to avoid division if I myself become a source of division."

In its Nov. 22 report on the archbishop's "contested methods," Le Point said he had fueled a crisis with a "divisive and authoritarian" leadership style and had inadvertently revealed his "liaison with a woman" in a misdirected 2012 email.

The Paris Archdiocese confirmed to Agence France-Presse that there had been "no question of a relationship in love or a sexual relationship," adding that Archbishop Aupetit's letter to the pope was "not an admission of guilt but a gesture of humility."