PARIS, France (AFP) — A French archbishop’s decision to promote a priest who was sentenced to jail for raping a teenaged boy has drawn new condemnation of the Roman Catholic Church for its record on sex abuse.

Victim support groups and traditionalists have expressed outrage over the case of Dominique Spina, who was found guilty of raping a 16-year-old boy in 2006 and sentenced to five years in prison.

The archbishop of Toulouse, Guy de Kerimel, set off the controversy in June when he named Spina as diocesan chancellor, putting him in charge of archives.

The canonical code lays down that the chancellor must be “of honest reputation and above all suspicion”.

Kerimel said he had acted out of “mercy” in making the appointment and that he had “nothing to reproach” the priest for in an “administrative function”.

In a statement released Thursday in the face of mounting protests, Kerimel acknowledged the “incomprehension” and “questions” among Catholics but said again that without “mercy” Spina risked a “social death”.

“This is in no way about downplaying a crime” and the victim must be “recognised and helped”, he insisted.

Because of the sensitivity of the topic, Catholic leaders have been reluctant to speak publicly, but one bishop told AFP, on condition of anonymity, that the appointment was “a great shame” for the Church.

“A priest convicted of serious sexual acts cannot hold a position of responsibility again. We should be able to say that,” the bishop added.

In a joint statement, several groups of victims of sexual abuse in Catholic schools expressed their “deep indignation” and “anger” at the appointment.

The Catholic media has also lambasted the appointment.

La Croix, a Catholic daily newspaper, said that “the principle of mercy cannot be used as a hasty justification”.

The traditionalist website Riposte Catholique called the appointment “unjustifiable” and said the Vatican should intervene.

“Compassion does not consist of rehabilitating a condemned man to a canonical position,” commented the christian website Tribune Chretienne, known for its conservative line.

France’s Catholic Church is already reeling from several sexual scandals in schools it runs and accusations of longtime sexual abuse made against Abbe Pierre, once an icon of the defence of the poor who died in 2007.

The Church has set up two commissions on acknowledging and compensating for the widespread abuses uncovered by an independent inquiry released in 2021.