The numbers are staggering. 216,000 minors have been sexually abused in France since 1950 by priests or other clergy of the Catholic Church. Also count as perpetrators the lay people who work for Church institutions (teachers, youth leaders, supervisors) and the number of victims climbs to 330,000. Most of them are boys between ten and thirteen years old. The number of perpetrators is estimated at 3,000.
It was known that the Catholic Church in France, as in many other countries, has a problem with sexual abuse. Nevertheless, the findings of the Sauvé Committee hit like a bomb. “These figures are overwhelming and they cannot go unanswered,” said committee chairman Jean-Marc Sauvé on Tuesday when handing over the inquiry to the French episcopate.
Also read this article: Child Abuse Case: The Priest Just ‘Passed’
The 72-year-old Sauvé, previously vice-president of the French Council of State, was tasked in 2018 by the French bishops to map the sexual abuse of minors within the church and to make recommendations to tackle the problem.
Three years later, he concludes that the French Church has not done enough to prevent the abuse, has covered things up and in some cases exposed children to known abusers.
“You are going to pay for these crimes,” said François Devaux at the presentation of the report. As president of La Parole Libérée (The liberated word), an association of victims of priest and scouting leader Bernard Preynat from Lyon, Devaux is the figurehead of the victims. He was also the first of more than two hundred victims to be heard by the commission.
Preynat was sentenced last year to five years in prison for sexually abusing children in his care between 1972 and 1991. His superior, the Archbishop of Lyon Philippe Barbarin, had previously been sentenced to six months’ probation for covering up Preynat’s abuse. That conviction was overturned on appeal; Barbarin did resign.
Late Account
Paying is also Sauvé’s recommendation to the French church, even though many of the cases are legally barred. “The damage suffered must be compensated, even if the fault cannot be (formally) established.”
It has taken longer in France than in other countries for the Catholic Church to account for the sexual abuse in its ranks. The scandal about this erupted in the United States in 2002 after extensive investigation The Boston Globe. A report in Ireland in 2009 caused such a stir that it became a factor in the secularization of the country and paved the way for the recognition of same-sex marriage and the legalization of abortion. In France, the Sauvé report is the first to paint a picture of the scale of the problem.
Éric de Moulins-Beaufort, president of the French bishops’ conference and head of the Catholic Church in France, said on Tuesday that he felt “shame” and “disgust” at the findings. “My only wish is to ask forgiveness from each of you. The time of ambiguity and naivety is over.”
In an interview with Le Figaro the archbishop said he was surprised by the results of the inquiry. “We all knew there had to be more victims than we already knew. But no one would have thought there were so many. I am deeply hurt and humiliated by the Church’s inability to realize the suffering of the victims and understand the threat posed by such and such a priest.”
Civil law must take absolute precedence over canon law in criminal matters, is an advice
‘Cruel indifference’
The report is therefore inexorable for the way the church in France has dealt with the problem. “Up to the early 2000s, the church has shown great and even cruel indifference towards the victims,” Sauvé said on Tuesday. “The victims are not believed, not heard.”
Even when more and more cases came to light from 2000, the church continued to fail. The measures taken were ‘overdue’ and ‘reactive’, ‘implemented unevenly’ and ‘overall insufficient’.
The victims’ associations are pleased with the Sauvé report. “These crimes can no longer be contested or minimized from now on,” they said in a joint statement. “We expect the bishops to implement all the recommendations in the report. Now is the time to turn words into deeds.”
Also read this article: French church will also apologize for child abuse
In addition to compensation, this also concerns the relationship between church and state. According to the researchers, canon law is in need of a thorough revision. Civil law must take absolute precedence over canon law in criminal matters, and the secrecy of confession must not be used to avoid reporting sexual abuse to the civil authorities.
These are issues that go beyond the authority of the French bishops, and according to victim François Devaux, the Catholic Church faces a huge task. He himself called on Tuesday for a third Vatican council led by Pope Francis. The latter took note of the contents of the French report on Tuesday “with pain in the heart”, a Vatican spokesman said.
Pope Francis tightened canon law in June this year to punish sexual abuse and covering it up more severely. Under the new law, which comes into effect in December, bishops and other religious superiors can be removed from office if they fail to report sexual abuse to the church hierarchy.
A version of this article also appeared in NRC on the morning of October 6, 2021
The numbers are staggering. 216,000 minors have been sexually abused in France since 1950 by priests or other clergy of the Catholic Church. Also count as perpetrators the lay people who work for Church institutions (teachers, youth leaders, supervisors) and the number of victims climbs to 330,000. Most of them are boys between ten and thirteen years old. The number of perpetrators is estimated at 3,000.
It was known that the Catholic Church in France, as in many other countries, has a problem with sexual abuse. Nevertheless, the findings of the Sauvé Committee hit like a bomb. “These figures are overwhelming and they cannot go unanswered,” said committee chairman Jean-Marc Sauvé on Tuesday when handing over the inquiry to the French episcopate.
Also read this article: Child Abuse Case: The Priest Just ‘Passed’
The 72-year-old Sauvé, previously vice-president of the French Council of State, was tasked in 2018 by the French bishops to map the sexual abuse of minors within the church and to make recommendations to tackle the problem.
Three years later, he concludes that the French Church has not done enough to prevent the abuse, has covered things up and in some cases exposed children to known abusers.
“You are going to pay for these crimes,” said François Devaux at the presentation of the report. As president of La Parole Libérée (The liberated word), an association of victims of priest and scouting leader Bernard Preynat from Lyon, Devaux is the figurehead of the victims. He was also the first of more than two hundred victims to be heard by the commission.
Preynat was sentenced last year to five years in prison for sexually abusing children in his care between 1972 and 1991. His superior, the Archbishop of Lyon Philippe Barbarin, had previously been sentenced to six months’ probation for covering up Preynat’s abuse. That conviction was overturned on appeal; Barbarin did resign.
Late Account
Paying is also Sauvé’s recommendation to the French church, even though many of the cases are legally barred. “The damage suffered must be compensated, even if the fault cannot be (formally) established.”
It has taken longer in France than in other countries for the Catholic Church to account for the sexual abuse in its ranks. The scandal about this erupted in the United States in 2002 after extensive investigation The Boston Globe. A report in Ireland in 2009 caused such a stir that it became a factor in the secularization of the country and paved the way for the recognition of same-sex marriage and the legalization of abortion. In France, the Sauvé report is the first to paint a picture of the scale of the problem.
Éric de Moulins-Beaufort, president of the French bishops’ conference and head of the Catholic Church in France, said on Tuesday that he felt “shame” and “disgust” at the findings. “My only wish is to ask forgiveness from each of you. The time of ambiguity and naivety is over.”
In an interview with Le Figaro the archbishop said he was surprised by the results of the inquiry. “We all knew there had to be more victims than we already knew. But no one would have thought there were so many. I am deeply hurt and humiliated by the Church’s inability to realize the suffering of the victims and understand the threat posed by such and such a priest.”
Civil law must take absolute precedence over canon law in criminal matters, is an advice
‘Cruel indifference’
The report is therefore inexorable for the way the church in France has dealt with the problem. “Up to the early 2000s, the church has shown great and even cruel indifference towards the victims,” Sauvé said on Tuesday. “The victims are not believed, not heard.”
Even when more and more cases came to light from 2000, the church continued to fail. The measures taken were ‘overdue’ and ‘reactive’, ‘implemented unevenly’ and ‘overall insufficient’.
The victims’ associations are pleased with the Sauvé report. “These crimes can no longer be contested or minimized from now on,” they said in a joint statement. “We expect the bishops to implement all the recommendations in the report. Now is the time to turn words into deeds.”
Also read this article: French church will also apologize for child abuse
In addition to compensation, this also concerns the relationship between church and state. According to the researchers, canon law is in need of a thorough revision. Civil law must take absolute precedence over canon law in criminal matters, and the secrecy of confession must not be used to avoid reporting sexual abuse to the civil authorities.
These are issues that go beyond the authority of the French bishops, and according to victim François Devaux, the Catholic Church faces a huge task. He himself called on Tuesday for a third Vatican council led by Pope Francis. The latter took note of the contents of the French report on Tuesday “with pain in the heart”, a Vatican spokesman said.
Pope Francis tightened canon law in June this year to punish sexual abuse and covering it up more severely. Under the new law, which comes into effect in December, bishops and other religious superiors can be removed from office if they fail to report sexual abuse to the church hierarchy.
A version of this article also appeared in NRC on the morning of October 6, 2021
The numbers are staggering. 216,000 minors have been sexually abused in France since 1950 by priests or other clergy of the Catholic Church. Also count as perpetrators the lay people who work for Church institutions (teachers, youth leaders, supervisors) and the number of victims climbs to 330,000. Most of them are boys between ten and thirteen years old. The number of perpetrators is estimated at 3,000.
It was known that the Catholic Church in France, as in many other countries, has a problem with sexual abuse. Nevertheless, the findings of the Sauvé Committee hit like a bomb. “These figures are overwhelming and they cannot go unanswered,” said committee chairman Jean-Marc Sauvé on Tuesday when handing over the inquiry to the French episcopate.
Also read this article: Child Abuse Case: The Priest Just ‘Passed’
The 72-year-old Sauvé, previously vice-president of the French Council of State, was tasked in 2018 by the French bishops to map the sexual abuse of minors within the church and to make recommendations to tackle the problem.
Three years later, he concludes that the French Church has not done enough to prevent the abuse, has covered things up and in some cases exposed children to known abusers.
“You are going to pay for these crimes,” said François Devaux at the presentation of the report. As president of La Parole Libérée (The liberated word), an association of victims of priest and scouting leader Bernard Preynat from Lyon, Devaux is the figurehead of the victims. He was also the first of more than two hundred victims to be heard by the commission.
Preynat was sentenced last year to five years in prison for sexually abusing children in his care between 1972 and 1991. His superior, the Archbishop of Lyon Philippe Barbarin, had previously been sentenced to six months’ probation for covering up Preynat’s abuse. That conviction was overturned on appeal; Barbarin did resign.
Late Account
Paying is also Sauvé’s recommendation to the French church, even though many of the cases are legally barred. “The damage suffered must be compensated, even if the fault cannot be (formally) established.”
It has taken longer in France than in other countries for the Catholic Church to account for the sexual abuse in its ranks. The scandal about this erupted in the United States in 2002 after extensive investigation The Boston Globe. A report in Ireland in 2009 caused such a stir that it became a factor in the secularization of the country and paved the way for the recognition of same-sex marriage and the legalization of abortion. In France, the Sauvé report is the first to paint a picture of the scale of the problem.
Éric de Moulins-Beaufort, president of the French bishops’ conference and head of the Catholic Church in France, said on Tuesday that he felt “shame” and “disgust” at the findings. “My only wish is to ask forgiveness from each of you. The time of ambiguity and naivety is over.”
In an interview with Le Figaro the archbishop said he was surprised by the results of the inquiry. “We all knew there had to be more victims than we already knew. But no one would have thought there were so many. I am deeply hurt and humiliated by the Church’s inability to realize the suffering of the victims and understand the threat posed by such and such a priest.”
Civil law must take absolute precedence over canon law in criminal matters, is an advice
‘Cruel indifference’
The report is therefore inexorable for the way the church in France has dealt with the problem. “Up to the early 2000s, the church has shown great and even cruel indifference towards the victims,” Sauvé said on Tuesday. “The victims are not believed, not heard.”
Even when more and more cases came to light from 2000, the church continued to fail. The measures taken were ‘overdue’ and ‘reactive’, ‘implemented unevenly’ and ‘overall insufficient’.
The victims’ associations are pleased with the Sauvé report. “These crimes can no longer be contested or minimized from now on,” they said in a joint statement. “We expect the bishops to implement all the recommendations in the report. Now is the time to turn words into deeds.”
Also read this article: French church will also apologize for child abuse
In addition to compensation, this also concerns the relationship between church and state. According to the researchers, canon law is in need of a thorough revision. Civil law must take absolute precedence over canon law in criminal matters, and the secrecy of confession must not be used to avoid reporting sexual abuse to the civil authorities.
These are issues that go beyond the authority of the French bishops, and according to victim François Devaux, the Catholic Church faces a huge task. He himself called on Tuesday for a third Vatican council led by Pope Francis. The latter took note of the contents of the French report on Tuesday “with pain in the heart”, a Vatican spokesman said.
Pope Francis tightened canon law in June this year to punish sexual abuse and covering it up more severely. Under the new law, which comes into effect in December, bishops and other religious superiors can be removed from office if they fail to report sexual abuse to the church hierarchy.
A version of this article also appeared in NRC on the morning of October 6, 2021
The numbers are staggering. 216,000 minors have been sexually abused in France since 1950 by priests or other clergy of the Catholic Church. Also count as perpetrators the lay people who work for Church institutions (teachers, youth leaders, supervisors) and the number of victims climbs to 330,000. Most of them are boys between ten and thirteen years old. The number of perpetrators is estimated at 3,000.
It was known that the Catholic Church in France, as in many other countries, has a problem with sexual abuse. Nevertheless, the findings of the Sauvé Committee hit like a bomb. “These figures are overwhelming and they cannot go unanswered,” said committee chairman Jean-Marc Sauvé on Tuesday when handing over the inquiry to the French episcopate.
Also read this article: Child Abuse Case: The Priest Just ‘Passed’
The 72-year-old Sauvé, previously vice-president of the French Council of State, was tasked in 2018 by the French bishops to map the sexual abuse of minors within the church and to make recommendations to tackle the problem.
Three years later, he concludes that the French Church has not done enough to prevent the abuse, has covered things up and in some cases exposed children to known abusers.
“You are going to pay for these crimes,” said François Devaux at the presentation of the report. As president of La Parole Libérée (The liberated word), an association of victims of priest and scouting leader Bernard Preynat from Lyon, Devaux is the figurehead of the victims. He was also the first of more than two hundred victims to be heard by the commission.
Preynat was sentenced last year to five years in prison for sexually abusing children in his care between 1972 and 1991. His superior, the Archbishop of Lyon Philippe Barbarin, had previously been sentenced to six months’ probation for covering up Preynat’s abuse. That conviction was overturned on appeal; Barbarin did resign.
Late Account
Paying is also Sauvé’s recommendation to the French church, even though many of the cases are legally barred. “The damage suffered must be compensated, even if the fault cannot be (formally) established.”
It has taken longer in France than in other countries for the Catholic Church to account for the sexual abuse in its ranks. The scandal about this erupted in the United States in 2002 after extensive investigation The Boston Globe. A report in Ireland in 2009 caused such a stir that it became a factor in the secularization of the country and paved the way for the recognition of same-sex marriage and the legalization of abortion. In France, the Sauvé report is the first to paint a picture of the scale of the problem.
Éric de Moulins-Beaufort, president of the French bishops’ conference and head of the Catholic Church in France, said on Tuesday that he felt “shame” and “disgust” at the findings. “My only wish is to ask forgiveness from each of you. The time of ambiguity and naivety is over.”
In an interview with Le Figaro the archbishop said he was surprised by the results of the inquiry. “We all knew there had to be more victims than we already knew. But no one would have thought there were so many. I am deeply hurt and humiliated by the Church’s inability to realize the suffering of the victims and understand the threat posed by such and such a priest.”
Civil law must take absolute precedence over canon law in criminal matters, is an advice
‘Cruel indifference’
The report is therefore inexorable for the way the church in France has dealt with the problem. “Up to the early 2000s, the church has shown great and even cruel indifference towards the victims,” Sauvé said on Tuesday. “The victims are not believed, not heard.”
Even when more and more cases came to light from 2000, the church continued to fail. The measures taken were ‘overdue’ and ‘reactive’, ‘implemented unevenly’ and ‘overall insufficient’.
The victims’ associations are pleased with the Sauvé report. “These crimes can no longer be contested or minimized from now on,” they said in a joint statement. “We expect the bishops to implement all the recommendations in the report. Now is the time to turn words into deeds.”
Also read this article: French church will also apologize for child abuse
In addition to compensation, this also concerns the relationship between church and state. According to the researchers, canon law is in need of a thorough revision. Civil law must take absolute precedence over canon law in criminal matters, and the secrecy of confession must not be used to avoid reporting sexual abuse to the civil authorities.
These are issues that go beyond the authority of the French bishops, and according to victim François Devaux, the Catholic Church faces a huge task. He himself called on Tuesday for a third Vatican council led by Pope Francis. The latter took note of the contents of the French report on Tuesday “with pain in the heart”, a Vatican spokesman said.
Pope Francis tightened canon law in June this year to punish sexual abuse and covering it up more severely. Under the new law, which comes into effect in December, bishops and other religious superiors can be removed from office if they fail to report sexual abuse to the church hierarchy.
A version of this article also appeared in NRC on the morning of October 6, 2021