STRASBOURG (FRANCE)
The Pillar [Washington DC]
September 30, 2025
By Luke Coppen
A senior official blamed a ‘misunderstanding’ for previously stating the case had been closed.
A senior official in France’s troubled Strasbourg archdiocese has said he mistakenly told media that a canonical case for child sexual abuse against a reinstated vicar general was closed when it was in fact open.
Canon Jean-Luc Liénard told the French investigative outlet Mediapart Sept. 29 that he had misunderstood the situation surrounding Canon Hubert Schmitt, who was controversially reinstated as a vicar general in July before resigning in early September.
Liénard, who is also a vicar general, said: “I realized that my partial knowledge of the case led to a misunderstanding of it, hence my misinterpretation. The canonical proceedings concerning Canon Schmitt are continuing.”
The admission comes weeks after an anonymous group of priests in the archdiocese in eastern France issued an appeal for a new apostolic visitation of the archdiocese, arguing that a network of cronyism remained despite a succession of scandals and leadership changes.
Liénard’s acknowledgement marks the latest twist in a case that dates back to 2021, when Emmanuel Siess formally accused Schmitt of sexually assaulting him in 1993, when he was 13 years old.
The public prosecutor’s office in the city of Mulhouse launched a judicial investigation following the allegation, which Schmitt has always denied. Strasbourg’s then-Archbishop Luc Ravel opened a parallel canonical investigation.
French media reported in April 2023 that Ravel had removed Schmitt from the episcopal council, a body that assists the archbishop in managing the Strasbourg archdiocese and from his position as vicar.
In May 2023, the public prosecutor declared that the allegation fell outside of the statute of limitations. But the probe remained open as investigators appealed for any witnesses or other potential victims to come forward.
Also in May 2023, Ravel resigned as the Archbishop of Strasbourg, following accusations of authoritarian governance, which he denied. He was succeeded in April 2024 by Archbishop Pascal Delannoy.
In October 2024, the public prosecutor discontinued the case against Schmitt.
Also in October 2024, the director Claudia Marschal released a film, “La Déposition” (“The Deposition”), focused on the allegation against Schmitt. The documentary won a prize at the 2024 Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland.
In July 2025, it emerged that Archbishop Delannoy had restored Schmitt to the post of vicar general.
The diocese confirmed in August 2025 that he had returned to the role, with a particular focus on “the charity and care department of the diocesan curia.”
At the time, Canon Liénard told the local news outlet Rue89 Strasbourg: “As the canonical and judicial proceedings have been closed, and as he has not been brought before the courts of the Church or the Republic, he has not been convicted.”
“According to the sound principle, he therefore enjoys all his rights, including the presumption of innocence.”
Mediapart noted in its Sept. 29 report that this statement was false as the canonical investigation was ongoing.
Schmitt’s reappointment ignited controversy because it came amid uproar in the French Church over the appointment of a priest convicted of sexually abusing a minor as the chancellor of the Archdiocese of Toulouse.
In June 2025, Toulouse Archbishop Guy de Kerimel named Fr. Dominique Spina as chancellor, despite Spina’s conviction in 2006 for multiple counts of raping a 16-year-old boy.
De Kerimel initially defended the appointment, arguing that it was an act of mercy toward a repentant priest who had served his sentence and not been dismissed from the clerical state.
But following public pressure from Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, the president of the French bishops’ conference, and other bishops, de Kerimel withdrew the appointment.
The Spina and Schmitt cases had important differences, as Schmitt denied the allegations and judicial proceedings against him were closed. But the French media drew parallels between them.
The media noted that Schmitt did not appear to meet a requirement of canon law that vicar generals be noted for their “sound doctrine, integrity, prudence, and experience in handling matters” given a pending allegation of child sexual abuse.
The Strasbourg archdiocese announced Schmitt’s resignation Sept. 10.
In a statement, Schmitt said: “For several days now, the press and social media have been insistently referring to my position as vicar general and head of the pastoral department for ‘charity and care.’”
“Following an in-depth investigation conducted by the public prosecutor’s office over three consecutive years, the prosecutor of Mulhouse terminated the proceedings against me on Oct. 21, 2024.”
“In view of the outcry caused and to preserve the serenity of the diocesan government, I submitted my resignation today to the Archbishop of Strasbourg. He has accepted it.”
Mediapart reported that Archbishop Delannoy recently forwarded the Schmitt case to the National Canonical Criminal Court, a body established by the French bishops in 2022.
The court is due to hear the testimony of Emmanuel Siess Oct. 4.
Siess, who is now 40, told Mediapart: “After reading in the press that the case was closed, I got a call out of the blue telling me I was being summoned, after years of hearing nothing.”
“I feel like they’re making fun of me, that they’re just trying to cover up their lies, to put a band-aid on a wound.”
But Siess confirmed that he intended to attend the hearing, saying “I want this court to hear my story and I fully intend to hold them accountable.”
Neither Schmitt nor Delannoy responded to Mediapart’s request for comment.
The Strasbourg archdiocese, which traces its history back to the 4th century, has been mired in scandal in recent years.
In November 2022, Archbishop Jean-Pierre Grallet, who led the archdiocese from 2007 until his retirement in 2017, admitted that he had “acted inappropriately toward a young adult woman” in the late 1980s.
Grallet’s successor, Archbishop Ravel, doggedly pursued reforms in the archdiocese, prompting accusations of high-handed governance. In June 2022, the apostolic nunciature in France announced that Pope Francis had approved an apostolic visitation of the archdiocese.
After the pope accepted Ravel’s resignation in May 2023, Ravel strongly defended his tenure, saying he had “always acted as closely as possible to the law and to my conscience.”
In February 2024, Pope Francis also accepted the resignation of Strasbourg auxiliary Bishop Gilles Reithinger at the age of 51.
Reithinger officially stood down for health reasons, but was engulfed by a scandal surrounding the Paris Foreign Missions Society, where he had served as superior general before his episcopal appointment in 2021.
Reithinger has denied any wrongdoing. On Sept. 5, 2025, the regional newspaper Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace reported that the bishop had resumed his priestly activities, celebrating several Masses in the archdiocese over the summer and serving as president of the local charity Caritas Alsace.