Lourdes, France.- French or canonical justice investigate 11 bishops either former bishops in cases of sexual assault, including a cardinal who acknowledged conduct “reprehensible” with a minor 35 years ago, the president of the Episcopal Conference.
Jean-Pierre Ricardformer Bishop of Bordeauxrecognized a behavior “reprehensible” towards a minor of 14 years 35 years ago, declared Eric de Moulins-Beaufortduring a press conference in Lourdes (south), where the prelates hold their annual meeting.
Another of the bishops is michel santierwhom the Vatican authorities sanctioned in 2021 for “spiritual abuse resulting in ‘voyeurism’ to two adult men” in the 1990s. The silence about his sanction caused great anger in recent weeks among Catholics and groups of victims.
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Regarding the rest, Moulins-Beaufort He specified that the civil or canonical justice indicted six bishops; two exprelates are being investigated; and a last one is the subject of a complaint before the prosecutor’s office – which has not yet responded – and of restrictive measures by the Holy See.
Without going into details, the president of the French Episcopal Conference (CEF) pointed to the “great diversity of situations regarding the acts committed or of which they are accused.”
The 120 members of the CEF meet from Thursday in Lourdes to work, among others, on “concrete proposals” to improve communication and transparency on canonical measures taken against religious accused of sexual assault.
A year ago, France He learned about the devastating scope of pederasty cases within the Catholic Church. An independent commission estimated that some 216,000 minors were victims of priests and religious in France between 1950 and 2020.
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