2023-05-03 20:00:05
The organ and choirs of the Gregorian schola fill the nave of Strasbourg Cathedral on this last Sunday in April. A priest celebrates the 9:30 a.m. mass, as if nothing had happened. A phrase makes the faithful wince when he invites us to pray for “the good pastors of today and tomorrow”. Should we detect a hidden message, linked to the tormented local news?
Ten days earlier, Thursday April 20, Mgr Luc Ravel, the archbishop of the diocese, which governs the whole of Alsace, has resigned. His governance, considered brutal, earned him rejection by some of the priests and the faithful. He was forced to leave his post after a long period of hesitation, after being the subject of an apostolic inquiry led by the Vatican.
After the service, the faithful do not hang around, while the clusters of tourists storm the square and the building. Esther (the people mentioned by their first names did not wish to give their names), 18, followed the case through the newspapers: “I just go to mass on Sunday. What surprises me the most is this lack of cohesion between the archbishop and the priests, it seems essential to me”she comments.
“Called, like the apostles to be courageous”
Following the resignation of Mr.gr Luc Ravel, the diocese of Strasbourg published on Facebook a « message d’encouragement pastoral ». The vicar, Jean-Luc Liénard, specifies the next steps. The Vatican and the Elysée, specificity of the Alsatian concordat territory, must now accept the resignation. Appointing a replacement will then take several months. “In the boat of a diocesan church which is experiencing a great storm (…), we are called, like the apostles, to be courageous and to overcome our divisions, to serve peace and unity”ensures the message.
The comments below the post instead reflect the feelings of a bewildered community, worried and hurt by a confused situation that will have lasted for months and seems to have deepened divisions. The resignation of Mr.gr Ravel, appointed Archbishop of Strasbourg in 2017, is the conclusion of a long deleterious soap opera, the episodes of which have fed the regional press. And it will take time for peace to return to the diocese.
Wednesday, April 26, in front of the Dominican church, at the end of midday mass, three parishioners are discussing. They come here every day, enjoy the songs and the services, and the presence of many young people on weekends. The affair which ended with the departure of the Archbishop leaves a feeling of “great sadness” to Lionel, 70: “He said resigning for the peace of the diocese, it must be hard for him, I rather liked him. We will continue our Christian life despite the storm. » Marie-Françoise, 74, opines, but she regrets on her side “brutal decisions [de l’archevêque] which have tarnished a favorable a priori, and which [l]‘did [se] ask questions about [son] church, to its functioning”. Elle “hope that the next archbishop will be someone who can restore harmony and bring serenity and listening”.
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