Strasbourg Vicar General Resigns Amid Canonical Proceedings of Homosexual Abuse

On 29 September, Mediapart.fr reported that a senior official the Archdiocese of Strasbourg, France, had misinformed the media. Canon Jean-Luc Liénard had stated that a canonical case for alleged homosexual abuse against the vicar general Hubert Schmitt had been closed. In fact, it is ongoing.

The accusation is from Emmanuel Siess and was first made in 2021. He claims that Canon Schmitt homosexually assaulted him as 13-year-old boy in 1993. The allegation centres on touching.

Canon Schmitt denies the accusation. He was removed from office in 2023 amid a police investigation.

In October 2024, prosecutors ruled that the statute of limitations prevented them from bringing charges.

Despite the allegations, Archbishop Pascal Delannoy reinstated Canon Schmitt as vicar general in July 2025.

Schmitt resigned as vicar general on 10 September: "In view of the outcry caused, and to preserve the serenity of the diocesan government, I submitted my resignation to the Archbishop of Strasbourg today. He has accepted it.'

The canonical court will hear testimony from the alleged victim, Emmanuel Siess, on 4 October.

Church juridical proceedings are known to protect homosexuals.

This summer, an anonymous group of priests in the Archdiocese of Strasbourg had issued an appeal for a new apostolic visitation, arguing that cronyism controls the archdiocese.

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