Sexual violence in Church: process of reparation for victims of priests begins

The independent national body of recognition and repair presents, Wednesday, June 1, its composition, its functioning and its financial repair criteria.

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Is this finally the real start? The independent national authority for recognition and repair (INSIRR) presented on Wednesday 1 in June, its composition, its functioning and its financial reparation criteria for victims of sexual violence inflicted by priests. This organization was created by the Conference of Bishops of France (CEF) in November 2021, following the publication of the report of the Independent Commission on sexual abuse in the Church (CIASE), which had estimated at 216,000 Many people who have been sexually assaulted by a priest or a religious during their minority. But if the Recognition and Repair Commission (CRR), which is responsible for the victims of religious, is in place, the Inirr has struggled to start.

Its president, Marie Derain de Vaucresson, admits that this period could have aroused “impatience”. “But we build something new, which has no equivalent in France, which is different from a legal process while referring to concepts of law and psychology, argues this framework of the Ministry of the justice. We must therefore set the framework of our intervention from the start. “

People who wish to address the INIRR will be supported by a “situation referent”. The committee has eight, employees or volunteers, who are lawyers, psychologists, mediators. This referent will collect information and expectations, will assess the “likelihood” of the facts by contacting, if necessary, with the ecclesial organization concerned, and will accompany the victim to formulate their requests for recognition – of the facts committed and its victim quality – and repair of damage.

This repair can in particular be financial. Like the CRR, the Inirr decided that it could go up to 60,000 euros per person. “The maximum amount is in the very higher range of civil justice compensation, indicates Inirr. It is higher than the maximum amounts granted by most of the commissions set up in Europe.” To assess the amount , Inirr has set up a triple scale of gravity. One concerns the nature of the facts, the second the behavior of the Catholic Church in the present case, the third assesses the gravity of the consequences that have sexual violence in the life of the person had.

The request is finally subject to a college made up of ten volunteers – magistrates, lawyers, psychologists and educators specializing in childhood aid. Headquarters among them Jean-Luc Souveton, a priest himself a victim who helps other violence. If the college validates the request for repair, it transmits it to the Selam fund, created by the episcopate, which settles the sum.

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