French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin of Lyon pauses at the courthouse in Lyon Jan. 7, 2019. Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Cardinal Barbarin March 6, 2020, less than six weeks after a French appeals court overturned his conviction for failing to report clerical sexual abuse. (CNS photo/Emmanuel Foudrot, Reuters) See FRANCE-BARBARIN-NEW-DUTIES June 30, 2020. It had been quiet around the former primate of France for years. But Cardinal Barbarin suddenly reappeared for the papal election. Now he is 75.
In March 2019, a Lyon court of first instance found him guilty of failing to report sexual assaults and sentenced him to six months’ probation. Ten former scouts and alleged victims of abuse by a priest appeared as joint plaintiffs. Barbarin lodged an appeal.
Pope Francis initially did not accept his offer to resign. According to the Pope, the presumption of innocence applies until the conclusion of the proceedings. The appeal judgement in Lyon acquitted Barbarin in 2020; nevertheless, he renewed his offer to resign and this time Francis accepted. Since then, Barbarin has lived in seclusion in the countryside; his successor in Lyon was Archbishop Olivier de Germay.
Morocco – Paris – Madagascar
In the summer of 2002, Barbarin became Archbishop of Lyon at the age of just 51; this also gave him the historic honourary title of “Primate of Gaul”, which he had held since 1079. Barbarin has been a member of the College of Cardinals since 2003. In 2013 and 2025, he took part in the papal elections of Francis and Leo XIV.
In the summer of 2013, Barbarin suffered a heart attack while travelling to World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro. The churchman is a big fan of the Belgian comic cult series “Tintin”. After stepping down in 2020, he donated parts of his valuable Tintin collection to the youth social work of prominent “rocker priest” Guy Gilbert. He explained that the most expensive piece alone brought in 6,000 euros.