The canonical investigation against the bishop was opened in April 2021 “because of rumors and accusations made against him evoking inappropriate attitudes towards adults.” The investigation was made public at that time after La Croix had reported on two civil complaints filed against Lafont in 2021 in Cayenne, the capital of French Guyana.
The Cayenne Diocese’s metropolitan archbishop is Archbishop David Macaire of Fort-de-France in Martinique, an overseas region of France in the eastern Caribbean. Macaire conducted the canonical investigation, according to La Croix.
The French-born Bishop Lafont was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Tours in 1970. He served in South Africa in the Johannesburg area from 1983 to 1994. He became known for being the only white priest to live in the black slums of Soweto, the French magazine Marianne reported. Lafont allied with foes of racial apartheid such as Nelson Mandela and Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu.
Pope John Paul II named him bishop of Cayenne in 2004. He retired in October 2020 at the age of 75. Cayenne is the only diocese in French Guyana, an overseas region of France located in South America. It borders Brazil and Suriname. The predominantly Catholic region has about 294,000 people.
Yves Le Clair, a Cayenne prosecutor, told AFP the bishop faces a preliminary investigation for “aggravated human trafficking,” “aid to illegal residence,” and aggravated breach of trust.
One civil complaint against the bishop was made last year by a 27-year-old Haitian asylum seeker. He had told investigators that Lafont had offered him housing in exchange for sexual relations. The bishop denied the allegation.
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