RABAT (MOROCCO)
Morocco World News [Rabat, Morocco]
September 29, 2025
By Firdaous Naim
The priest, who served in multiple parishes around Dijon, was reportedly “exfiltrated” to Rabat in 2017 after a complaint was filed against him in France
The collective published an open letter on Monday, urging the Church to provide transparency on the priest’s activities in Morocco, where he was transferred in 2017 following an initial complaint in France.
The priest, who served in multiple parishes around Dijon, was reportedly “exfiltrated” to Rabat in 2017 after a complaint was filed against him in France, a case that was later dismissed.
While in Morocco, he continued his ministry until 2024, when new accusations surfaced, this time from alleged victims in Rabat.
Following those complaints, the Diocese of Dijon prohibited him in November 2024 from working with minors. He was subsequently indicted in France in May 2025 and is currently in custody, having admitted to at least four assaults.
The collective’s letter, addressed to the archbishops of Dijon and Rabat, Antoine Hérouard and Cristobal Lopez Romero, demands that both dioceses disclose “the list of all activities” the priest carried out with young people during his service.
The group questions whether preventive measures were ever implemented in Rabat to restrict his contact with minors and whether Moroccan authorities or Vatican officials were formally alerted about his past allegations.
“Have any reports been made in Rabat? Were the priest’s antecedents communicated to Rome or to the commission tasked with investigating sexual abuse in the Church?” the letter asks.
According to the collective, such inquiries are “the least victims can expect from Church leaders who failed to protect them.”
The case shows the cross-border implications of clerical abuse and the risk of problematic transfers between dioceses.
For Morocco, where the Catholic Church serves a small but diverse community largely composed of foreign residents and students, the scandal raises pressing questions about accountability and oversight.
Critics argue that the silence of the Rabat diocese may have allowed abuse to continue unchecked, undermining the credibility of Church authorities in safeguarding vulnerable communities.
The collective has so far identified 16 alleged victims between Dijon and Rabat. It warns that the real number could be far higher, as it continues to seek testimonies from those who may have crossed paths with the priest in the two cities.