Catholic Nun Denied Housing in French Retirement Home Over Religious Attire

From Islamophobia to "Christianophobia", there is only one step. After spending her entire life in a convent in the Drôme, a Catholic nun over 70 years old thought she had found the right address to spend a calm and peaceful retirement in her region of origin, in Haute-Saône. Except that it did not go as planned.

The process began in October 2018 when she contacted the CCAS, the manager of the "Foyer logement" for the elderly, recalls France Bleu. Subsequently, her name was placed on the waiting list of applicants. The housing allocation commission finally accepted her application after several months.

She then received correspondence in which particular emphasis was placed on the internal regulations of the establishment. "In respect of secularism, any ostentatious sign of belonging to a religious community cannot be accepted in order to ensure the serenity of all," it is written. The Catholic nun refused to comply with this provision and thus lost the housing.

This situation provoked the indignation of the parish priest of Vesoul, who evokes a "Christianophobia", according to the parish bulletin. "We are constantly bombarded with principles of secularism that are not understood," he criticized in reference to the veiled woman assaulted by Julien Odoul, an RN elected official on the Bourgogne Franche-Comté regional council. "I don’t think a nun’s veil can be harmful, because it is not a sign of submission, but of consecration," the priest said.