Bishop Jacques Gaillot, who was ousted from his see for his outspoken liberal views, has marked the first anniversary of his dismissal by inaugurating what may be the world's first "virtual diocese" in cyberspace.
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The Vatican removed Bishop Gaillot from the Evreux diocese, 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of Paris, on Jan. 13 last year [1995], deepening a gulf between conservatives and liberals.

The cleric had annoyed the Vatican and the French hierarchy not only by his statements on a range of subjects ranging from priestly celibacy to the use of condoms to prevent AIDS, but also because of his media-hogging style. In dismissing him, the Vatican said that he had broken ranks with the Pope and his fellow bishops.

But the church holds that episcopal consecration is valid for all time, and in any case, theologians said, the bishop had done nothing doctrinally wrong. So the hierarchy let him keep his rank and full pay.

Since every Catholic bishop is supposed to have a physical place to hang his miter, the pope named him head of the "titular see" of Partenia, a long-extinct and uninhabited diocese in the middle of the Sahara.

The Vatican has hundreds of such defunct jurisdictions, which are former Catholic sees that have fallen under the control of other denominations and religions. It keeps them for retired, ailing or auxiliary bishop — and occasionally for those who tumble from favor.

Bishop Gaillot took the concept of a diocese in the middle of nowhere to new dimensions by moving it into cyber-space. It appeared to be an act of defiance, because the Vatican had warned him to keep a low profile after he held an apparently amicable meeting with the Pope just before Christmas. There was no indication that he had sought the permission of his superiors for the new venture.

Bishop Gaillot calls his cyberdiocese Partenia, and said it would be a "place of freedom" where people could come "to meet and speak as if in a public place." He noted earlier that on the Internet, his message was well-placed to attract the attention of young people.

The site (www.partenia.org) was overburdened Monday as thousands of callers tried to visit it. But in Evreux Sunday, only about 300 people demonstrated for Bishop Gaillot's restatement, compared with the thousands at his farewell Mass a year ago.

Since leaving Evreux, Bishop Gaillot has lived with a community of homeless people in Paris. He joined the Greenpeace seaborne demonstration against French nuclear testing in the South Pacific, has championed immigrants and claims to be the voice of the "marginalized" in French society. Last week, he took part in a well-publicized commando action to take over an empty apartment building for five homeless families.

Other bishops complain that Bishop Gaillot has no monopoly on helping those burdened by problems in French society, but nonetheless manages to grab most of the media attention.

France's Roman Catholic bishops devoted part of their closed-door conference at Lourdes last year to discussing what to do about their unruly brother, but arrived at no solutions.
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“I thank also all those who do not believe, for having come. The critical alertness of non-believers is vital: it keeps awake the evangelical consciousness of Christians.

Let us rejoice at the diversity of our assembly. We need each other to live in a creative way. Here we gather together to open the book of Life. The Word of God is the light of our life. The Word heals and frees the heart of those who have been hurt. Let us not store hate or violence in ourselves; our heart is not meant to hate.”

An extract from Bishop Gaillot's farewell homily

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