‘Ax Has Fallen’: Vatican Fires Bishop Who Defended Gays French Cleric Also Said Priests Should Be Free To Marry

He defended homosexuals, recommended using condoms and said priests should be free to marry. By Friday, the Vatican had heard enough and took an extraordinary step - it fired French Bishop Jacques Gaillot.

Although the Vatican publicly warns priests to obey theological guidelines and avoid partisan politics, the pope in recent times has almost never taken the ultimate step of dismissing a bishop.

Gaillot, 59, announced the firing himself, a day after he was summoned to the Vatican and defied a request to resign as bishop of Evreux, in Normandy.

“The threats leveled against me have been carried out,” he said in a statement. “The ax has fallen.”

Gaillot retains his Roman Catholic rank but will no longer oversee parishioners or churches in the city of 50,000.

The Vatican said Gaillot consistently ignored advice on how to perform his duties and was warned by Pope John Paul II to “stop acting outside” the communion of the church.

“The prelate has not revealed himself suitable to carry out the ministry of unity, which is the first task of a bishop,” the Vatican statement said.

The Vatican doesn’t like to discipline high-ranking priests and usually does so with milder measures such as restricting travel, limiting authority or imposing silence.

“It is a very unusual step,” said Sister Mary Ann Walsh, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Catholic Conference in Washington. “I know of no time when this has happened in the United States. It’s unusual to even limit the authority of a bishop.”

Gaillot bucked the pope on several fronts.

He believes the church should recognize homosexual marriages and shocked fellow priests by offering to bless gay couples. He wrote in a weekly newspaper that homosexuals “will precede us into the kingdom of God.”

He also endorsed the Frenchmade abortion pill, advocated the use of condoms and favored the ordination of married priests.