In an interview with La Croix, the angry Theologian denounces Paris Match Magazine for “calumny,” “defamation,” and discrimination.
Newsroom (14/12/2021 9:06 PM, Gaudium Press) A recent Paris Match magazine headline ran around the world because it met all the ‘needed‘ requirements: the inference that a conservative Archbishop of one of the most important cities, such Paris, succumbed to one of the eternal weaknesses of the human race: passion.
In an “exclusive” video, -“Monseigneur Aupetit, perdu par amour” (Monsignor Aupetit, lost for love)-, the report plays scenes of the prelate leaving a café with theologian Laetitia Calmeyn. “Somewhere in Yvelines [outskirts of Paris] , Paris Match followed Arch. Aupetit.” And it continues: “by his side, there was a woman: Laetitia Calmeyn, a Belgian theologian. She is a professor at the Collège des Bernardins.” The report seems to infer that the Archbishop of Paris would have lied by omission about the relationship.
Next, the video shows Francis’s words while returning to Rome from Athens as he explains the reasons for accepting the Archbishop’s resignation.
The Theologian reacts
But the Theologian did not remain silent. She granted an interview to La Croix, expressing her anger at Paris Match’s reading and interpretation of the images.
“If I were a man, the question of the friendship with Arch. Aupetit would not have arisen,” reads the headline of La Croix’s interview.
Laetitia Calmeyn, a consecrated virgin since 2013, also holds a doctorate in theology. She has been a consultant to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and directs the Higher Institute of Religious Sciences, an entity that grants undergraduate and postgraduate courses. She is considered a relevant character in the Church of France.
Calmeyn is threatening legal action against Paris Match for “defamation,” “slander,” and “invasion of privacy.” She underscores the “trauma” and “shock” produced by Paris Match’s insinuations. The Theologian reviles the report as an act of image theft and a “montage” created to “suggest suspicion.” Paris Match’s -Calmeyn notes- uses her womanhood in a discriminatory fashion.
While Paris Match has been prudent about the language used, observers argue that her legal proceedings stand a good chance of victory, both for her reputation and finances. Will she initiate a civil case?
For now, what remains in the collective memory is Arch. Aupetit’s recent words, pronounced at his Thanksgiving Mass in Saint Sulpice. He said, paraphrasing the same Paris Match headline, that he had lost his life for love, but only for Christ. And that, for Christ, he would be happy to lose his life again.
Compiled by Gustavo Kralj
