Matthieu Jasseron, ex-Tik-Tok star, leaves the exercise of the priesthood

He made his “spiritual coming out”. Present on the social network TikTok since 2020, where he posted videos aimed at a young audience, sometimes far from the Church, the priest from Yonne had already chosen to withdraw from social networks last December, fearing becoming a “guru” for his million subscribers. Through a 45-minute video posted on Sunday October 20 on his YouTube account, Matthieu Jasseron finally made it known that he was “giving back the cassock”, while explaining that he had gone through months of ordeals, of conflicts with the ecclesial hierarchy, ranging up to the physical confrontation with a bishop. It also reports pressure, identity theft, betrayal of confidences, and defamation, particularly from Christian newspapers.

In 2021, the priest made himself known to the general public by affirming in a video that it was “written nowhere neither in the Bible nor in the catechism of the Catholic Church that being homosexual or practicing homosexuality is a sin”, to which the Conference of Bishops of France responded in a press release that it disapproved of “some of these videos which distort the message of the Gospel”. Since then, the influencer has attracted as much support as criticism.

Charge against the Church

During his video announcement, shot in the countryside and in which he appears smiling, Matthieu Jasseron also denounces the functioning of the institutional Church, which he repeatedly describes as a “party”. “By having transformed this spiritual impulse into a human institution, we come to confuse what is of the order of faith and what is of the order of politics. (…) Lost in a system with such a fragile structure, and so undemocratic, we inevitably end up creating the perfect context to allow many forms of abuse to develop,” explains the former priest of Joigny.

The priest, who has not yet been officially relieved of his priestly obligations, remains unclear regarding his future in the Church. “I continue to believe, even more than ever, in the strength of the Gospel, in the beauty of the Church, in the unparalleled beauty of the Christian community. (…) If I want to continue to remain a Christian, however I no longer have what it takes to continue to remain one of the party’s managers” he states.

In his video, he announces the upcoming release of his new book, The power of Kintsugi (ed. Flammarion), in which he gives his tips for overcoming life’s challenges.