The ax quickly fell. Saturday June 24, Guillaume Seguin, the chaplain of the Cochin hospital, was suspended as a precaution by the Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), barely two days after the revelations of the World and the Catholic magazine Golias on his conviction by the Church in 2020 for sexual violence. As of Friday, the priest, known to be one of the spiritual advisers of the billionaire Vincent Bolloré, had preferred to withdraw. The 56-year-old cleric did not show up at the hospital.
“Father Seguin has not resumed his activities on the Cochin site. The suspension process is ongoing. Discussions are currently continuing with the Diocese of Paris to define the terms of a complete settlement of the situation.told the WorldMonday, June 26, the AP-HP, confirming the sanction unveiled, Saturday, by France info.
In 2015, then in 2018, the diocese of Paris had received the testimony of two men who denounced acts of sexual assault perpetrated years earlier by Father Seguin – which the cleric has always disputed. “At the time, I was intern at Stanislas and it was during the confession that he started to caress me. You realize, it is a double profanation, that of the body and that of the sacrament.had entrusted to the World one of the two victims, who had repeatedly alerted without being heard.
Report closed without follow-up
In 2018, a canonical procedure was launched. Completed in September 2020, it led to the condemnation of Father Seguin by Catholic authorities. The priest can no longer exercise spiritual accompaniment and can no longer confess outside his ministry of hospital chaplain, for a period of five years, so until 2025.
On the other hand, the Paris prosecutor’s office dismissed the report made in July 2019 by Michel Aupetit, the Archbishop of Paris then in office.
Despite the sanctions imposed by the Church, Guillaume Seguin, ordained a priest in 1995, continued to appear publicly, frequenting the circles of Vincent Bolloré, the Breton businessman known for his ultra positions, convinced that it was necessary defend “Christian West”.
According to information from Worldthe Paris Hospitals had become aware at the end of 2022 of the events which had led to the conviction of Father Seguin, ” but, we specify to the AP-HP, the legal elements available to us at the time did not allow us to base a disciplinary decision”.
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