PARIS (FRANCE)
DPA (Deutsche Presse-Agentur) via Herald Mail
May 30, 2020
A French Catholic writer and lay activist is putting herself forward to be the first female archbishop in the Catholic Church.
Anne Soupa, 73, has declared her candidacy for the archbishopric of Lyon — the most senior in the French Catholic Church.
The position has been vacant since March, when Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, acquitted on appeal on charges of covering up sex abuse by a former priest.
“I don’t know if the church authorities will … react positively or at least constructively, but what I do know is that my candidacy is very serious,” Soupa told dpa.
Under the Catholic Church’s canon law, bishops must have served as priests for five years, and only men can be ordained priests.
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