PARIS (Reuters) – An independent commission will on Tuesday shed light on the scale of sexual abuse committed by Catholic clergymen in France since 1950.
In the run-up to the release of its findings, Commission head Jean-Marc Sauve said about 3,000 paedophile priests and clerics https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/french-catholic-church-had-estimated-3000-paedophiles-since-1950s-commission-2021-10-03 abused minors over the five-decade period, and called that number a conservative estimate.
The publication marks the culmination of 2-1/2 years of work. The inquiry was commissioned by the French Catholic Church in 2018, when Pope Francis demanded his clergy wipe out the sexual abuse of minors.
HIGH PROFILE CASES IN FRANCE
In 2020, Roman Catholic priest Bernard Preynat was found guilty of sexually abusing dozens of Boy Scouts several decades earlier. He was sentenced to five years in prison.
The case embroiled a senior cardinal and put Europe’s senior clergy in the spotlight at the time when the pope faced criticism over Church’s response to a crisis that was gravely damaging its global standing.
Cardinal Philippe Barbarin was found guilty of failing to report the historical allegations of abuse against Preynat in 2019, but later had his conviction overturned https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/french-court-upholds-not-guilty-ruling-cardinal-sex-abuse-case-2021-04-14 on appeal on the grounds that the alleged victims were adults by the time he became aware of the mistreatment.
In 2018, former bishop of Orleans Andre Fort got an eight-month suspended sentence for failing to report the actions of another paedophile priest. That priest, Pierre de Coye de Castelet, was handed a two-year prison term.
CHURCH STEPS TO TACKLE ABUSE IN FRANCE
Catholic bishops in France called in 2018 for an independent commission to be established to shed light on past abuses and restore public confidence in the Church at a time of dwindling congregations.
Sauve, a senior civil servant, heads a commission with 21 other members including sociologists, magistrates, law professors and theologians. They include people of different faiths, as well as atheists and agnostics.
In 2019, the Diocese of Paris agreed to send the capital’s prosecutor any allegations of sexual abuse by clergymen even if the victim had not filed a complaint.
In March this year, the Church said it would propose financial aid to help victims of paedophile clergymen. It also voted to establish a council “for the fight against paedophilia”.
INVESTIGATIONS OUTSIDE FRANCE
The French inquiry comes years after similar investigations in the United States, Ireland and Australia.
In 2002, a U.S. independent commission began looking into abuses during a period similar to the one covered by the French investigation. It revealed that more than 10,000 individuals had been abused by more than 4,000 predatory priests. The U.S. Catholic Church has paid out an estimated $3.2 billion to settle clergy abuse cases, according to BishopAccountability.org, which tracks the issue.
In 2009, an Irish government-commissioned study found that Catholic priests and nuns had terrorised thousands of children for decades. It said rape and molestation had been endemic in schools and orphanages run by the Irish Catholic Church.
An Australian public inquiry recommended in 2017 that Catholic clerics should face criminal charges if they did not report sexual abuses disclosed to them during confession. It also said the Church should consider making celibacy voluntary.
(Compiled by Richard Lough; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
