Secularists raise doubts as priest eyes top job at French university

By FRANCE 24. The expected appointment of a Catholic priest as president of the University of Strasbourg in eastern France has upset secular sensibilities in a country where separation of Church and state institutions is strictly observed.
Theology professor Michel Deneken, ordained in the 1980s and a parish priest from 1985 to 2000, is the leading candidate for the position, which is due to be announced late on Tuesday following a vote by faculty leaders. Deneken, a former vice president at the university, is currently serving as interim president.
The appointment risks upsetting supporters of France’s strict secularism laws, which bar religious clothing and symbols, from crucifixes to Jewish skullcaps and Muslim headscarves, in public institutions. Read more...