TOULOUSE, France (LifeSiteNews) — Archbishop Guy André Marie de Kerimel appointed a priest convicted of raping a 16-year-old boy to be archdiocesan chancellor, sparking outrage from abuse victim groups.

The Pillar reported that de Kerimel, the archbishop of Toulouse in France, appointed Father Dominique Spina as chancellor and episcopal delegate for marriages in his diocese. In 2006, Spina was convicted of raping a 16-year-old boy in 1993 and sentenced to five years in prison.

After French outlets broke the story of Spina’s appointment on Monday, the Archdiocese of Toulouse received waves of criticism from victims of clerical abuse and their support groups, including Spina’s victim.

According to a statement referenced by French news outlets, de Kerimel said he has “taken the side of mercy” regarding Spina’s appointment.

“(Spina) no longer exercises any pastoral responsibility, other than that of celebrating the Eucharist, alone or exceptionally for the faithful,” the archbishop said, according to the statement published by news outlets on July 7.

“Considering that we have nothing to reproach this priest for over the past 30 years for acts likely to be the subject of legal proceedings, canonical or civil, I have therefore chosen to appoint him to this administrative function,” he continued.

Spina was ordained in the Diocese of Bayonne and served as a high school chaplain, a parish priest in Pau, and a diocesan vocations director before facing criminal charges.

The 16-year-old victim was a student at Notre-Dame de Bétharram during the “multiple rapes” that occurred in 1993 and 1994. The school saw a series of sexual abuse scandals between the 1970s and late 1990s.

The boy who was abused by Spina later entered into seminary and told the seminary rector his story, leading to an investigation. Spina was removed from his position in 2000 and arrested in 2002. In 2006, he was convicted of rape and sentenced to five years in prison. He was eventually released after four years with a suspended sentence.

According to a 2016 report by Le Monde, psychiatric experts testified at Spina’s trial, saying that the priest had “paranoid, narcissistic and perverse dispositions,” lacked a sense of responsibility for his actions, and that he was at risk of committing the same or similar crimes in the future.

Scandalously, Spina was incardinated in the Diocese of Toulouse and assigned to a local parish after his release from prison. He was even put in charge of a children’s ministry.

In 2016, the public was made aware of Spina’s conviction via a report by French news outlet Mediapart. After the news broke, Archbishop Robert Le Gall, de Kerimel’s predecessor, removed Spina from his ministry.

However, according to a diocesan statement from June 4, Spina has been the vice chancellor of the Toulouse diocese until now, even though he was barred from public ministry.

According to canon law, a diocesan chancellor is responsible for maintaining and safeguarding the archives of the diocesan curia. However, in many dioceses, the chancellor acts as a senior adviser to the bishop.

Canon law states that chancellors “must be of unimpaired reputation and above all suspicion.”

Despite this canonical requirement, de Kerimel defended his highly controversial appointment.

“By this function, Spina is, in fact, a notary and secretary of the diocesan curia. Moreover, Father Spina does not accompany couples to marriage,” he said in a press release.

Spina’s victim, who identified himself as Frédéric, told French news outlet Charlie Hebdo that he was “not surprised” by the bishop’s decision to promote the abusive priest.

“He has always enjoyed great goodwill. From the start, all the Church’s leaders have been very kind to him, and this continues quite logically. Being a priest is the only profession where you manage to find a new job despite committing abominable crimes,” Frédéric stated.

In reference to Archbishop de Kerimel citing “mercy” as the reason to promote Spina, he said, “Taking the side of mercy? Do we take this side for the victims? Not at all.”

“Mercy?” he repeated. “It’s terrible to hear words like that … For the victims, mercy doesn’t exist. There’s nothing at all, to be honest. Spina is supported to the end.”

Jérôme Moreau, president of the French victims’ federation, told a French news outlet, “Having people promoted based on the fact that they have good conduct sends a very bad message. Especially for the direct victim of this priest, it’s extremely painful.”

Archbishop de Kerimel was appointed by Pope Francis in 2021 to lead the Archdiocese of Toulouse. He was the Bishop of Grenoble from 2006 to 2021. De Kerimel is known for his opposition to traditional expressions of the Catholic faith. He has reprimanded seminarians for wearing cassocks, accusing them of appearing “overly clerical.” He was also an enthusiastic defender of the restriction of the traditional sacraments through Pope Francis’ motu proprio Traditionis custodes.