Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, archbishop of Reims: “I am deeply ashamed”
VATICAN CITY. “I am deeply ashamed.” He asks a thousand and a thousand times for “forgiveness”, in his name and in the name of the entire Church of France. He feels humiliated and embarrassed in the face of the absolute evil of violence against thousands of children inflicted by priests for seventy years in the Sacred Rooms across the Alps. The president of the Bishops’ Conference, Monsignor Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, archbishop of Reims, also and above all suffers from the posthumous silences of those who did not want to hear the desperate cry of some of the 330,000 victims of pedophilia in the French Church from 1950 to today, according to the report of the Ciase (Commission on sexual abuse in the Church) wanted by the bishops themselves.
Excellency, how can the Church of France restart?
“These figures are a huge, incredible and frightening surprise, as well as an unspeakable affliction. The voice of those who have been abused overwhelms us, their number overwhelms us. All this is unbearable as well as intolerable. So the first fundamental step to take is to listen to the suffering of those who have been raped with an open heart: it is a crucial requirement. Then we will have to become aware of these atrocities committed by thousands of “us” ».
Then?
“We will then be called upon to make necessary decisions, considering the report’s recommendations, on how to prevent abuse. These include the training of priests and the promotion of policies to compensate the victims ”.
And some prelate will have to resign or be “invited” to do so, don’t you think?
«After having ascertained the precise responsibilities, the steps backwards are one of the ways to go. But it will not be enough anyway: we bishops with all the priests and the faithful must read this dossier of horrors, and then work together to emerge unambiguously from this painful crisis of epochal and impressive proportions ».
Apart from the criminal actions, among the many issues that emerge from the work of the commission which pains you the most?
«The deep indifference, and also cruel towards the victims. It is shameful. The refusal to see, to hear, the desire to hide, the reluctance to report. The Church in many of her personalities has not been able – or has not wanted to – hear, see, perceive the desperate cry of thousands of children and young people. And this is the exact opposite of God’s tenderness ».
If he met one of the thousands of victims, what would he say to her?
«The first thing is that I am trying to share, to“ make mine too ”, something of their suffering. I have had the opportunity of some interviews with raped people, I have worked with them in these three years, and today I feel I have a certain perception of their torment. But I will never stop expressing my shame, my suffering. And to ask them for forgiveness. I ask forgiveness of each and every one of them. Even though I know it’s not enough. It is necessary that the whole Church of France ask for forgiveness ».
Have you spoken to the Pope about this situation?
“Yup. He told me that it is mine and our cross. Then he added that afterwards it could also become light: the Pontiff thinks that when these aberrant crimes come to light, the path towards purification begins ».
What is the light in this darkness in which the Church of France has sunk?
“There is only one: the word of the victims. From there we have to start over, to try to repair the atrocious damage done and avert new scandals ».
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