PARIS (AP) — A Catholic priest says he's been punished by church leaders in France after he gathered more than 100,000 signatures with an online petition that called for a prominent cardinal to resign over his handling of child sex-abuse cases.
Rev. Pierre Vignon says he was informed by email Thursday that he is no longer being considered for service on a church court where he has officiated as a judge since 2002.
Speaking Friday in a phone interview, Vignon says the decision shows that church leaders remain in two minds about how to deal with sex-abuse cases.
Vignon's petition called for the resignation of Philippe Barbarin, archbishop of Lyon since 2002. Vignon faults the cardinal's handling of a notorious alleged pedophile priest suspected of abusing Lyon boy scouts in the 1980s.
