Holy See Press Office declaration on dismissal of nun in France
Matteo Bruni, director of the Press Office of the Holy See, answers questions from journalists on the dismissal of Sabine de la Valette, former Sister Marie Ferréol.
By Vatican News
In response to questions from journalists, the director of the Press Office of the Holy See, Matteo Bruni, confirmed on Saturday that the Secretariat of State sent a “Note Verbale” to the French Embassy to the Holy See.
The diplomatic note concerns the “purported decision of the Court of Lorient in France in a civil dispute concerning the dismissal from a religious Institute of Mrs. Sabine de la Valette (former Sister Marie Ferréol)”.
Mr. Bruni stressed that the Holy See learned of this information “only through the press.”
It was also underlined that Cardinal Marc Ouellet, who at the time of the events was prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, “never received a summons from the court of Lorient”.
The Director of the Press Office specified that the Cardinal “actually made an apostolic visit to the Institute of the Dominicans of the Holy Spirit, in accordance with a pontifical mandate; following this visit, a series of canonical measures were taken against Mrs. Sabine de la Valette, including her dismissal from the religious institute.
“A possible decision of the Tribunal of Lorient,” concluded the director of the Press Office of the Holy See, “could not only raise important questions regarding immunity, but whether it ruled on internal discipline and membership in a religious institute , it could have constituted a serious violation of the fundamental rights to religious freedom and freedom of association of the Catholic faithful.
