Eric de Moulins-Beaufort had declared, in the aftermath of the publication of the report saved, that the secret of the confession was “stronger than the laws of the Republic.
Le Monde with AFP
After the publication of the report saved on pedocinality in the Catholic Church, Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, the President of the Conference of Bishops of France (CEF) had declared, Wednesday, October 6 , that the secret of the Confession was “stronger than the laws of the Republic” and caused an outcry.
M Gr Eric de Moulins-Beaufort is expected at the Ministry of the Interior where he will meet, Tuesday, October 12, in early afternoon, Gérald Darmanin who will receive, at the request of Emmanuel Macron, to ask him to “explain on his remarks”. The appointment between the two men, fixed at 14 o’clock will allow to exchange “on the sense of the sacrament of the confession for the Catholics and on the theological, spiritual and canonical foundations of the secret of the confession”, according to the President of the CEF.
The Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (CIASE), chaired by Jean-Marc Sauvé, advocates that the authorities of the Church relate a clear message on the obligation to the confessor to report to the judicial authorities and administrative cases of sexual violence on a minor or a vulnerable person. Mr. Sauvé, however, wished that “the tree of secrecy of confession does not hide the forest of all the recommendations” (forty-five in total) of his commission.
A lifting of the secret of the confession that Mr. Sauvé once again justified Monday in an interview at the weekly Christian family :” The obligation to protect the life of people is, from our point of view, superior to the obligation of the secret of the confession which aims in particular to protect the reputation of the penitent, “he reaffirms.
According to M gr of Moulins-Beaufort, “the secret of the confession has always been respected by the French Republic”, and is “not contrary to the French criminal law”, as pointed out According to him a circular of the Chancellery of August 2004 (on the professional secrecy of religious leaders). “Eric de Moulins-Beaufort is looking forward to the appeasement and will meet with Mr. Darmanin with this inquiry,” said France Press (AFP) Karine Dalle, CEF Communication Officer.
For his part, Eric Dupond-Moretti recalled Friday the legal framework of the secret of confession, affirming “the imperious necessity” for priests to alert on the facts of pedocimate ongoing.
Political side, the Minister Delegate to Citizenship, Marlène Schiappa, argued on Radio J that there was no “exception” for the respect of the laws of the Republic. “We voted a few weeks ago a law on Republican principles [law on the separatism]. We were very accused of having done against Muslims. The first time this law will apply, it is at the Church [Catholic] “, observed Saturday on France 2 The boss of MPM deputies, Patrick Mignola
The RN candidate in the presidential election, Marine Le Pen, said Sunday on BFMTV that the denominational secret is “nor below, or above”, but “in the law”.
The subject, burning, reacted: several associations of victims expressed their weariness or even their indignation against the comments of the episcopate. In a text transmitted to AFP, three personalities, including the co-founder of the association of victims the released word (now dissolved) François Devaux, have claimed Monday “the collective resignation of all the bishops in practice”, “as a sign of hope and renewal”.