According to the report saved, delivered in early October, some 216,000 people have been the subject of violence or sexual assault, when they were minor, from clergy or religious since 1950.
Le Monde with AFP
There is a huge wait on the part of the victims and Catholics. The bishops of France, gathered in Lourdes, decided on Friday 5 November to “recognize the institutional responsibility of the Church” in the sexual assault suffered by thousands of victims and the “systemic dimension” of these crimes, announced their Representative, Mgr Eric de Moulins-Beaufort.
These pedocinal acts, the magnitude of which has been brought to date by the recent report saved, “have been made possible by a general context, functioning, mentalities, practices within the Church,” said The President of the Bishops Conference (CEF), Mgr Eric de Moulins-Beaufort. “This responsibility leads to a duty of justice and reparation,” he added.
Some 120 prelates are gathered in Lourdes for their biennial meeting largely devoted to the reported report published on October 5, whose figures are scary. Since 1950, some 216,000 people over the age of 18 have been the subject of violence or sexual assault, when they were minor, from Clercs (priests or deacons) or religious and religious. If we add people attacked by laity working in institutions of the Church (teachers, supervisors, executives of youth movements, etc.), the number increases to 330 000. The Commission also considers about 3,000 The number of predators involved in 70 years.
In its 45 recommendations, the Commission saved proposed to recognize the civil and social liability of the Church “regardless of any personal fault of its officials”.
“Shame” of Pope Francis
She also advocated to individualize the calculation of the compensation due to each person victim according to the “suffering prejudices”. To finance the compensation fund, it extends the track of a call to the donations of the faithful, advocating to finance the allowances paid to the victims “from the heritage of the aggressors and the Church of France”. But in March the episcopate had announced the payment to the victims, from 2022, of a “financial contribution”, which is not compensation, wishing that it can be abundant by the “donations of the bishops , priests, faithful and anyone who will want to participate “.
If some victims have been invited to Lourdes, none of the collectives and associations made the trip, regretting that the report saved is not the sole subject of the Assembly, and refusing to be “the deposit of A process has minima “.
After the reporting of the report, Pope Francis expressed “his shame”, repeating such a word in the presence of French bishops.