Wenceslas Munyeshyaka, a 64-year-old cleric of Rwandan heritage who had been working in northern France for almost 30 years, has been dismissed by Pope Francis.

In a statement that has been making the rounds online, the bishop of Évreux said that Munyeshyaka "is excluded" from continuing to practice as a priest "anywhere else" and "automatically loses clerical rights."

The Office of the Diocese of Évreux informed the BBC that the communiqué was real and that the decision was based on a papal directive from March.

Following the 1994 Rwandan genocide, Munyeshyaka fled to France; he has not responded to the choice.

He was demoted by his diocese in December 2021 when it came to light that he had admitted paternity of a 10-year-old son in court.

In Rwanda, where he was ordained a priest in 1992, Mr. Munyeshyaka is charged with participating in the murder of hundreds of Tutsis who had fled to his church in the city's center, Kigali, during the genocide.

He was exonerated by French courts of the allegations of genocide.

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