The unsigned text, released by Tribune Chrétienne, called for a new apostolic visitation of the archdiocese, arguing that a network of cronyism remained despite a succession of scandals and leadership changes.
What’s the background to the priests’ intervention, and why are they issuing it now?
A Long history
The Archdiocese of Strasbourg, in eastern France, traces its history back to the 4th century. It has a distinctive status thanks to the Concordat of 1801, according to which episcopal moves are jointly approved by the Vatican and the French president.
Strasbourg is a relatively large and complex archdiocese, serving around 1.4 million Catholics in almost 800 parishes. Its territory includes the European Parliament, where Pope Francis made a flying visit in 2014.
But the archdiocese’s recent history has been anything but glorious.
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 Luc Ravel, doggedly pursued reforms in the archdiocese, prompting accusations of authoritarianism. In June 2022, the apostolic nunciature in France announced that Pope Francis had approved an apostolic visitation of the archdiocese.
In March 2023, while under close Vatican scrutiny, Ravel removed Strasbourg auxiliary Bishop Christian Kratz from his post of vicar general and excluded him from the bishops’ council, an advisory body within the archdiocese.
Ravel is said to have taken the step after Kratz was accused of mishandling abuse allegations that led to a former priest’s suicide. But Kratz expressed bewilderment at the decision, saying he was unaware of any failings on his part.
In April 2023, Ravel also reportedly removed Canon Hubert Schmitt, another vicar general, from the bishops’ council.
Schmitt faced an accusation that he had sexually assaulted a 13-year-old boy in 1993. He denied the claim, and in May 2023, a prosecutor declared that the allegation fell outside of the statute of limitations.
Also in May 2023, Pope Francis accepted Archbishop Ravel’s resignation at the age of 66, almost a decade before he would be expected to retire.
Ravel strongly defended his tenure, saying he had “always acted as closely as possible to the law and to my conscience.”
In February 2024, the pope 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.
At 48, Reithinger had been the youngest bishop in France. Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin presided at his episcopal ordination.
In May 2023, the Paris Foreign Missions Society announced that it had appointed an independent body to investigate “possible sexual violence committed between 1950 and 2023” within the organization.
Reithinger was reportedly interviewed as a simple witness by police in April 2023 concerning abuse allegations against the missionary Fr. Aymeric de Salvert.
In June 2023, the French Catholic publications La Croix, Famille Chrétienne, and La Vie published a joint investigation containing accusations that Reithinger failed to report sexual assaults committed in 2013. Reithinger denied the allegations.
In April 2024, Bishop Pascal Delannoy of Saint-Denis was named the new Archbishop of Strasbourg.
Why now?
In July 2025, it emerged that Archbishop Delannoy had restored Canon Hubert Schmitt to the post of vicar general.
The diocese confirmed in August that he had returned to the role, with a particular focus on “the charity and care department of the diocesan curia.”
A diocesan spokesman said: “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.”
The reappointment ignited controversy because it came amid uproar in the French Church over the appointment in the Archdiocese of Toulouse of a priest convicted of sexually abusing a minor.
While the two cases had clear differences, as Schmitt denied the allegations and judicial proceedings were closed, French media drew parallels between them, suggesting that Schmitt also did not meet a requirement in canon law that vicar generals be noted for their “sound doctrine, integrity, prudence, and experience in handling matters.”
Meanwhile, on Sept. 5, the regional newspaper Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace reported that Bishop Reithinger had resumed his priestly activities, celebrating several Masses in the archdiocese over the summer and serving as president of the local charity Caritas Alsace.
The unnamed priests’ letter published by Tribune Chrétienne seemed to refer to the Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace report in its opening sentence.
“On Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, the local press reported on the consequences of the moral decay that has afflicted the Archdiocese of Strasbourg as a result of small, organized, and discreet groups that have been co-opting each other for decades, intertwining well-established networks with others that are much less respectable,” the priests wrote.
The letter suggested that Archbishop Ravel had been ousted due to his zeal in seeking to root out the networks of influence.
“Archbishop Ravel was destabilized because he was doing the work of a bishop,” it said.
The priests argued that Archbishop Delannoy’s arrival had brought a brief moment of calm that gave way to disillusionment when it became apparent that the underlying networks remained in place.
“Faced with this situation, we strongly call for a new apostolic visit, in the hope that this time the truth will be fully recognized and that this whirlwind of evil will cease once and for all,” they wrote.
It would be unusual if the Vatican responded to the priests’ appeal by launching an apostolic visitation. Normally, they are launched in response to requests from senior churchmen rather than to unsigned letters published online.
But the priests’ text is likely to be noted in Rome — and to drive home the point that deep tensions remain in the Strasbourg archdiocese despite the recent flurry of leadership changes.