The French Catholic Church faces new accusations of sexual abuse following a scandal within the Paris Foreign Missions (MEP), an organization dedicated to spreading Christianity abroad. While several of its members are the subject of judicial investigations in France, France 24 journalists Karina Chabour and Julie Dungelhoeff tracked this society of missionary priests, present in numerous Asian countries, both in France and abroad.
Another scandal that the Catholic Church could have done without: in France, three criminal investigations have been opened against two priests and a bishop accused of sexual abuse.
The three men charged are all from the Paris Foreign Missions (MEP), an organization founded in France in the 17th century to convert overseas populations in Asia to Catholicism. Today it claims to have 150 priests in 14 countries in India, China, Japan and Southeast Asia.
Before the criminal investigations were announced, a France 24 team (in collaboration with Radio France’s investigations unit) was investigating the apostolic society to shed light on the inner workings of the prestigious institution suspected of covering up the acts of sexual predators. that work within it.
A series of scandals
The three criminal investigations currently open in France concern two former missionaries in Japan, Father Philippe and Father Aymeric, as well as the bishop of La Rochelle, Georges Colomb, former superior general of the MEP.
They are respectively accused of rape, aggravated rape and attempted rape. They have not yet been charged with any crime and are therefore presumed innocent. Father Philippe and Georges Colomb deny the accusations against them. Father Aymeric did not respond to France 24 journalists.
In a conversation recorded with the permission of Father Philippe, the priest spoke of a “system” into which he was introduced when he was a MEP seminarian. He said that his superiors introduced him to an active sexual culture in which they exerted influence on him.
“I was a good new recruit… as a sex object,” she said through tears.
The accusations against Father Philippe, Father Aymeric and Bishop Georges Colomb have all been made by alleged victims in France.
However, allegations of sexual abuse against members of the MEP extend far beyond French borders.
The France 24 investigative team traveled to northwest Thailand, home of the Karen ethnic minority, where they collected multiple witness statements accusing two priests of sexual assault against young children.
a code of silence
For more than 30 years, the village of Chong Kaep, near the Myanmar border, was home to a boarding school run by Father Tygreat that housed up to 260 Karen children.
When Father Tygreat died in 2007, he left behind a complicated legacy. The inhabitants of the region continue to celebrate the memory of the MEP missionary who, they say, came to bring knowledge and humanitarian aid.
But the priest’s sexual interest in young children also appears to be well known among locals. He is believed to have spent years offering the promise of a better future in exchange for sexual favors.
Father Tygreat was never investigated by police for his alleged crimes, but another MEP missionary in Thailand, Father Camille Rio, was disturbed by stories he heard about the late priest’s behavior from a local man who claimed to be one of his victims.
Camille Rio alerted her hierarchy within the MEP about the accusations in 2020.
“They told me that they had known for several months, that it was obviously all true, but that I had nothing to worry about,” he said. “As our lawyers said, the MEPs were safe.”
Camille Rio said her contact at the time was Gilles Reithinger, former superior general and current auxiliary bishop of Strasbourg.
Surprised by the response, the priest said he tried to raise the alarm again, several times, but to no avail.
At the same time, his relationship with the organization began to deteriorate. Having returned to France, he is currently prevented from returning to his mission in Thailand and his future within the organization appears uncertain.
Challenging the system
Asked about the tensions between Camille Rio and the organization, the superior general of the MEP, Vincent Sénéchal, stated: “Father Camille Rio has led several projects. Unfortunately, the situation is tense and we hope it can improve.”
Sénéchal maintained that the accusations against the members were isolated incidents. “There is no culture of abuse within the Foreign Mission Society. “We do not protect anyone who has crossed the red line of the law here.”
“Just because one person or another didn’t respect their celibacy, or another person got caught up in individual mistakes, doesn’t make it systematic,” he said.
At the same time, there are a significant number of accusations involving the highest levels of the organization, and the profiles of the alleged victims often point to their vulnerability.
In France, one victim was said to have been forced to perform sexual acts for financial reasons. A victim in Japan who claims to have been raped is on the autism spectrum.
The attackers allegedly used the homosexuality of some victims (still a potent taboo in the Catholic Church) to their advantage. “If you are Catholic and gay, you are ashamed, that is why we hide it,” said one complainant. “Filing a complaint would mean coming out as gay to everyone.”
Testimonies also claim that MEP members were able to take advantage of their organization’s prestigious reputation among their followers and the ecclesiastical hierarchy.
“In the heart of the Vatican, priests working for the Paris Foreign Missions Society receive close attention because they operate in hard-to-reach areas. They are the messengers,” said Sophie Lebrun, a journalist for the French Christian publication ‘La Vie’. “They have an aura around them.”
Ghost investigations?
The MEPs stated that they take the allegations, which are now the subject of an internal investigation, very seriously. Sénéchal announced in May 2023 the launch of a broad independent investigation led by an external private company into abuses within the MEP since 1950.
Multiple sources in Thailand who spoke to France 24 indirectly incriminated a second MEP priest, as well as Father Tygreat, who used to work in the country and still practices in Asia. Father Camille Rio also reported this priest to the MEP.
The organization stated that an investigation into the priest led by the local superior “interviewed 11 people and did not establish a credible allegation of assault.”
The documentary reveals the limits of this internal investigation: in front of the camera, the superior general of the MEP admits that he has not actively searched for the victims because he believes that doing so would risk forcing them to relive their trauma.
“There’s a difference between going out and looking for people and saying, ‘You were here this year, did something happen?’ This is a proactive approach,” said Sénéchal. “What we have done is work with the information we have at our disposal.”
The accumulation of accusations against the MEPs has also not prevented two members from rising through the ranks of the French Catholic Church.
Despite multiple warnings sent to his superiors, the priest Georges Colomb became bishop of La Rochelle in 2016. He is currently under investigation in France and in June asked to retire from his position during the police investigation.
His successor as superior general of the MEP, Gilles Reithinger, became auxiliary bishop of Strasbourg in June 2021. Reithinger has denied any involvement in the sexual scandals currently affecting the MEP and is not the subject of any judicial investigation.
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