French Catholic bishops announce “vast program of renewal” after report of abuse

The Catholic bishops of France announced Monday that they had accepted “a broad program of renewal” of governance practices in response to a landmark report on sexual abuse by clerics.

Bishop Éric de Moulins-Beaufort, president of the conference of bishops of France, declared on November 8 that the bishops had decided “to initiate a path of recognition and reparation opening up to the victims the possibility of mediation and compensation”.

“All the resolutions that we have voted constitute a vast program of renewal of our governance practices at the level of the dioceses and at the level of the Church in France”, declared the Archbishop of Reims in a press release. address broadcast live on French television.

Moulins-Beaufort made the announcement on the last day of the plenary assembly of bishops in Lourdes, southwestern France, which was held from November 2-8.

During the week-long meeting, the bishops heard from several victims of abuse and discussed the implications of an independent report estimating that hundreds of thousands of children have been abused in the Catholic Church in France over the years. Past 70 years.

Bishops knelt during an act of penance in Lourdes on Saturday in which an image of a crying child was unveiled and an abuse survivor shared a testimony.

Moulins-Beaufort said in his speech that the bishops had recognized the “institutional responsibility” of the Church and had decided to implement reforms based on what they had learned from the 2,500 pages. report by the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (CIASE).

“We did it first and foremost because we felt God’s gaze on us, because we felt disgust and fear rise within us realizing what so many people had experienced and were experiencing in terms of suffering, so that they had the right to receive the light, the consolation, the hope of God ”, declared the Archbishop.

From resolutions voted by the French bishops was an agreement to sell the real estate and movable property of certain Catholic dioceses as needed to supplement a fund to compensate victims of abuse.

Bishops have also created dedicated task forces to support the Church’s efforts to combat and prevent abuse.

“We must seek the truth of the Church, of the Church of Jesus, in a renewed listening to the poor and the little ones, to those who are victims or left behind in our collective life. For us today, we must listen carefully to the victims in our Church, ”said Moulins-Beaufort.

The CIASE report, published on October 5, estimated that 216,000 children had been abused by priests, deacons, monks or nuns in France from 1950 to 2020.

He suggested that there were “between 2,900 and 3,200” abusers out of 115,000 clergy and other religious workers, which, he noted, “would imply a very high number of victims per attacker.”

The study also said that “more than a third of sexual assaults within the Catholic Church were committed, not by members of the clergy, monks or other religious workers, but by lay people.”

Moulins-Beaufort said the French bishops would submit the CIASE recommendations regarding the Universal Church to Pope Francis for consideration, after some small revisions.

“We decided together to ask the Pope, since we are appointed by him, to come to our aid, by sending someone of confidence to discuss with us the way in which we have treated and treated the victims and their aggressors”, said the bishop.

Pope Francis sent a letter to the French bishops last week in the light of the plenary assembly, urging them to console the victims and take care of the “holy people of God, wounded and scandalized”.

“As you face the storm of shame and tragedy caused by the abuse of minors in the Church, I encourage you to bear your burden in faith and hope, and I carry it with you,” Pope Francis wrote in the letter published on November 3.

“I am sure that together, and under the direction of the Holy Spirit, you will find ways to honor and comfort the victims; to exhort all believers to penance and conversion of heart; take all necessary measures to make the Church a safe home for all; to care for the wounded and scandalized People of God; and finally, to assume the mission with joy, looking resolutely towards the future.