Jacques Gaillot facts for kids

Quick facts for kids His Excellency Jacques Gaillot
Titular Bishop of Parthenia
Jacques Gaillot (2007)
Church	Catholic Church
See	Partenia
In Office	1995–2023
Predecessor	José Luis Lacunza Maestrojuán
Successor	Vacant
Orders
Ordination	18 March 1961
Consecration	20 June 1982 by Léon Aimé Taverdet
Personal details
Born	(1935-09-11)11 September 1935 Saint-Dizier, France
Died	12 April 2023(2023-04-12) (aged 87) Paris, France
Previous post	Bishop of Évreux

Styles of Jacques Gaillot
Reference style	The Right Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Bishop

Jacques Gaillot (born September 11, 1935 – died April 12, 2023) was a French Catholic religious leader. He was also known as a social activist. From 1982 to 1995, he served as the Bishop of Évreux in France. In 1995, Pope John Paul II removed him from this role. This happened because Gaillot often shared strong opinions on religious, political, and social issues. These views were sometimes different from the official Church teachings. People sometimes called him "the Red Cleric" because of his bold ideas.

After 1995, Gaillot became the bishop of a "titular see" called Parthenia. A titular see is a historical place that no longer has a bishop in charge of a real area. Being a titular bishop means you have the title but no direct leadership over a specific region. Gaillot used this title to create an online community called Partenia. This online space helped people who had different views within the Catholic Church. It was even called the Catholic Church's first "virtual diocese."

Early Life and Becoming a Priest

Jacques Gaillot was born in Saint-Dizier, Haute-Marne, France, on September 11, 1935. After finishing high school, he began studying to become a priest at a seminary in Langres. From 1957 to 1959, he served in the military in Algeria.

He then continued his studies in theology in Rome from 1960 to 1962. He earned a bachelor's degree and was ordained as a priest in 1961. After his studies, he taught at a seminary in Châlons-en-Champagne. He also helped put into practice the ideas from the Second Vatican Council. This was a very important meeting that updated many rules and practices of the Catholic Church.

In 1973, he worked at a church in his hometown of St. Dizier. He also helped train future priests in Paris. In 1977, he became a vicar general for the Diocese of Langres. When the bishop's position became empty in 1981, he was chosen to manage the diocese temporarily.

Serving as Bishop of Évreux

On May 5, 1982, Pope John Paul II appointed Jacques Gaillot as the Bishop of Évreux. He officially became a bishop on June 20. In his first Easter message, he said he wanted to help those who were struggling or felt lost. He believed a bishop should go out into the community, not just stay in the church.

In 1983, Gaillot supported a person in Évreux who refused to do military service for moral reasons. During a meeting of French bishops, he was one of only two bishops who voted against supporting the use of nuclear weapons to prevent war.

In 1984, Gaillot chose not to join large Church-led protests supporting French parochial schools (church-run schools). Instead, he signed petitions that supported public, non-religious education.

In 1985, Gaillot gained a lot of media attention. He signed an appeal to help Catholic school teachers who were not paid enough. Another person who signed this appeal was the head of the French Communist Party. Some people in Gaillot's diocese were upset and called him "a tool of the church's worst enemies." A right-leaning newspaper, Le Figaro, started a campaign against him. Also in 1985, Gaillot supported the First Intifada, a Palestinian uprising.

In 1987, he traveled to South Africa to visit a young person from Évreux. This person was jailed for protesting against apartheid, a system of racial separation. Gaillot also attended a protest there. To make this trip, he missed a church pilgrimage, which drew criticism. He also said that French bishops were too focused on how the church worked. This made reactions even stronger when he later spoke against the National Front, a right-wing French political party. In 1987, Gaillot also went to Athens to support Palestinian refugees. He spoke at the United Nations in New York to advocate for disarmament.

In 1989, Gaillot visited French Polynesia with a peace group. They asked for an end to French nuclear weapons testing.

Gaillot also attended a special ceremony in Paris. It was for Bishop Baptiste-Henri Grégoire (1750–1831), who had helped end slavery and discrimination against Black people and Jews during the French Revolution. The Catholic Church had not supported Grégoire at the time. Gaillot was the only French bishop at this ceremony.

Later in 1989, Gaillot promised to be "loyal" to the Pope. However, a week later, he said on television that there was "feeble debate in the church." He was disappointed that the Church had not made more progress since the Second Vatican Council.

In 1991, he spoke out against the Gulf War. He wrote a book called Open letter to those who preach war, but let it be waged by others. He also criticized the trade ban on Iraq. By the end of 1991, the French Bishops' Conference had criticized Gaillot three times. The last time was for his support of Jean-Bertrand Aristide in Haiti.

Gaillot's book A Rant on Exclusion was published in March 1994. In it, he criticized French laws about immigration. On April 12, 1994, Gaillot appeared on television with a Catholic theologian who had different views. Two days later, the head of the French Bishops Conference, Archbishop Joseph Duval, wrote to Gaillot. He said Gaillot's position was "unsustainable" and caused "scandal for many Catholics." Gaillot offered to resign but then changed his mind.

Removal from Évreux

A high-ranking Vatican official, Cardinal Bernadin Gantin, met with Gaillot on January 13, 1995. Gaillot was given a choice: resign as bishop of Évreux or be removed from his position. Gaillot returned to France and said he had "good reasons to refuse" to resign. Since all bishops must have a diocese, even if it's just a title, he was assigned the titular see of Parthenia. This is a common practice for bishops who do not have a real area to lead.

The Church assigned two bishops to stay in touch with Gaillot.

Public Reaction to His Removal

Gaillot's removal caused a strong reaction from many people in France and around the world. Twenty thousand people, including Gaillot's mother, attended his last Mass at the Cathedral in Évreux. They then protested in the streets against the Vatican's decision. Many people, including the mayor of the region, marched in the rain. The cathedral was full, and many stayed outside for the Mass. Even though he was still a bishop, he left his cross, mitre (hat), and staff behind in Évreux.

Many people, both religious and non-religious, felt that removing Bishop Gaillot was a mistake. After his removal, about forty thousand people wrote letters to the Évreux Cathedral office. More letters were sent to the Vatican and other bishops. People liked him because he helped everyone, no matter who they were. He became a well-known figure after the Church's actions against him.

Surveys at the time showed that most French people were against Gaillot's removal. One survey showed that 64 percent of the public opposed it, while only 11 percent approved. Some later polls showed support for Gaillot might have been as high as 75 percent.

Other French bishops had mixed reactions. No French bishop publicly supported Gaillot. However, the spokesperson for the bishops said that two important leaders, Cardinal Robert-Joseph Coffy and Archbishop Joseph Duval, were "visibly troubled" by the Vatican's action. Duval later said he "regretted" what Rome had done. He called it "an authoritarian act which cannot be accepted by society."

The Archbishop of Cambrai, Jacques Delaporte, defended Gaillot. He called his removal "a wound for our church" and "a source of misunderstanding for the poor."

By the time he left Évreux, Bishop Gaillot had visited more prisons than any other bishop in France's history.

Life After Évreux

After being removed from his role in Évreux, Bishop Gaillot shared his thoughts:

I had a dream: to be able to accompany the poor, the excluded, the ignored, without having to explain myself or justify myself to the rich, the secure, or the comfortable. To be able to go where distress calls me without having to give advance notice. To be able to show my indignation at destitution, injustice, violence, the sale of weapons, and managed famines without being considered a meddler in politics.

I dreamed of being able to live my faith within the church, but also in society, in my time and with my times. I dreamed of the freedom to think and express myself, to debate and criticize, without fear of the guillotine. I dreamed of being different within the unity of faith, and remaining myself, alone and yet in solidarity with others. Ultimately, I hoped to be able to proclaim a Gospel of freedom without being marginalized.

After leaving the Bishop's Palace, Gaillot immediately moved in with people who were living in abandoned buildings in Paris. He continued to show support for homeless people. Bishop Gaillot kept working to defend human rights and be an activist. He regularly shared updates about his activities on the Parthenia website.

Gaillot remained active as a pastor to those who felt left out. He traveled across France and other countries, sharing the Christian message. He defended people who were considered "outcasts," especially immigrants. He was a strong opponent of war and was seen by many as a socialist. Gaillot had a close friendship with Abbé Pierre, another famous French priest and activist.

In 1995, after his removal, Bishop Gaillot spoke at a conference in Detroit. He was very popular, even though he spoke through a translator. He hosted the conference with other Catholic thinkers who also had different views.

Being removed from leading a specific area allowed Gaillot to be even bolder in his activism. In 1995, he protested against French nuclear testing in French Polynesia. Gaillot joined a group of protest ships, including the Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior. He was later removed from the ship by French military forces because the ship had entered a forbidden zone.

Twice, other bishops stopped Gaillot from speaking in their areas. In 2000, Pope John Paul II forbade him from attending a conference in Rome about religion and homosexuals. In 2004, a cardinal in Cologne banned Gaillot from speaking at a youth event in Bonn.

Also in 2004, Bishop Gaillot met with Maryam Rajavi, an Iranian political activist. Gaillot strongly criticized the actions of some extremist religious leaders in Iran. He said that "the strength of truth will make it triumphant." Rajavi publicly thanked the bishop for his support.

Gaillot also became a well-known public figure in France. He fought for many causes. He was a co-chairman of 'Droits devant !! [fr]' (Rights First), one of France's leading human rights groups.

In 2007, Gaillot started using the internet more. He posted a video interview on Google Video to bring attention to the growing violence in Darfur.

A book published after his removal from Évreux was called Voice From the Desert: A Bishop's Cry for a New Church. It was mostly about his life and the events surrounding his removal.

Reconciliation with Church Leaders

In 2000, Louis-Marie Billé, the Archbishop of Lyon and head of the French Bishops Conference, invited Gaillot to a church service in Lyon. This was on May 14, and other senior French church leaders were there. Billé said the invitation showed that bishops were united, even if they had different ways of expressing their faith. Gaillot accepted, saying he was "happy to demonstrate my communion with the Church."

On September 1, 2015, just before his 80th birthday, Gaillot met privately with Pope Francis at the Vatican. They talked for 45 minutes. Gaillot said the Pope encouraged him to continue his work helping migrants and refugees. After the meeting, Gaillot said he was "in love" with Pope Francis.

Death

Jacques Gaillot passed away on April 12, 2023, at the age of 87.

Images for kids

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  Jacques Gaillot in 2007

See also

In Spanish: Jacques Gaillot para niños