Leo XIV Has Promoted Another Hard-Line Immigration Bishop in France
Dating back to the 3rd century, the Bourges Archdiocese is one of France’s oldest sees. The installation Eucharist is scheduled for 30 November at Bourges Cathedral.
Fighter in Name Only
Born in Soissons in 1964 into an industrial family from Picardy, Sylvain Bataille was ordained a priest in 1989.
Early in his priesthood, he was inspired by the Saint Curé d’Ars. He joined the Société Jean-Marie Vianney (SJMV) in 1990, founded with Bishop Guy-Marie Bagnard to support diocesan priests and combat pastoral isolation.
He served as superior of the seminary in Ars for nine years and as rector of the Pontifical French Seminary in Rome from 2009 to 2014.
He was vicar general of the Diocese of Beauvais from 2014 to 2016, just before being appointed bishop.
Monsignor Bataille is tallish, slender and narrow-shouldered. The French word “Bataille” means “battle” or “fight” which doesn’t fit to the grey pro-immigration bureaucrat.
Visitator Against Bishop Rey
Monsignor Bataille was one of the prelates who participated in the controversial Apostolic Visitation of the diocese of Fréjus-Toulon, considered to be the best of France at the time. This resulted in the unjust and destructive removal of Bishop Dominique Rey.
Bishop Bataille visited the diocese in May 2011 to inspect the seminary, which then was flourishing.
Co-Signed That Homosexuals Can Be Blessed Together
Monsignor Bataille endorsed the disastrous document ‘Fiducia Supplicans’ in January 2024. He co-signed an appeasing communiqué from ten French bishops in the name of the ‘Permanent Council of the French Bishops’ Conference’ and published this statement on the website of his diocese. In it, he claimed that those unable to enter into a sacramental marriage are not excluded from God’s love and can be spontaneously "blessed".
"Land of Immigration"
In 2016, Bishop Bataille wrote a message to the Catholics of the Loire about immigrants. Even then, he interpreted Christ's words, "I was a stranger, and you welcomed me", as a Christian imperative to allow illegal African immigrants to flood into the country.
He praised the fact that more than half of the parishes in his diocese were already involved in welcoming illegal immigrants.
In 2022, he wrote another diocesan editorial entitled 'I was a stranger' in which he refers to his diocese as 'a land of immigration': “Every person is a richness, a treasure, with their history and culture.”
He repeated: "Migration can be an opportunity to foster encounters and to grow as individuals, culturally and spiritually."
Isolated Incident: Elderly Priest Beaten Up by Immigrants
When Father Francis Palle, aged 80, was beaten, knocked to the ground and robbed by 'enrichers' from North Africa, Bishop Bataille played down the assault. The diocesan communications department miscategorised the crime as an ordinary incident (“fait divers”) rather than connecting it to the context of social unrest caused by illegal African immigrants at the time. The diocese claimed that it was 'not necessarily' related to the riots.
Following sharp criticism, the diocese's communications office justified that the communiqué was intended to correct incomplete or biased information circulating on social media.
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