Three years after the report of the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (Ciase), the main victims of sexual violence at the hands of diocesan priests remain largely forgotten in the efforts of the Church in France. To remedy this deficiency, the bishops, meeting in Lourdes (Hautes-Pyrénées) from November 5 to 10 for their plenary assembly, will have to work in two sessions, on Thursday, November 7 and Friday, November 8, on the issue of support for these people. , before a vote. and a possible announcement on Sunday. “This question has always been present and it is a real challenge to be next to the most vulnerable.declared Monsignor Alexandre Joly, bishop of Troyes, during an inaugural press conference on Tuesday. We are working to implement reception systems, as well as recognition and reparation, as we did with the minor victims of diocesan priests. »
Launched in 2021 by the French Bishops’ Conference (CEF), the independent national body for recognition and reparation (Inirr) is limited to minors or young people (under 21 years of age) victims of violence committed by members of dioceses. The Recognition and Reparation Commission, founded the same year, deals without distinction with minor and adult victims, but only with acts committed by members of religious congregations. “The Conference of Religious Men and Women of France was more supportive of the issue than the CEF at that time and saw no problem in supporting adults. “The bishops have always been more reluctant”confesses a source who followed the discussions at that time.
According to several people interviewed by the worldSupport for adult victims, who unlike minors are predominantly women, is more complex in different aspects. The question of consent and control is subject to more debate than with children, where the question does not arise. Sometimes the events are also more recent and the perpetrators are still alive, potentially further complicating the reparation process for victims.
“Take your time”
Even so, the CEF ended up addressing the issue, in early 2023, entrusting Corinne Boilley, former deputy secretary general, with the responsibility of a working group to reflect on the application of a specific system. This group, made up of victims and multidisciplinary experts, already presented its recommendations to the bishops during the plenary assembly in March. Your report recommends in particular “the establishment of a neutral, third-party and professional support structure, established at national level and whose purpose will be to allow justice to be done and to accompany and support the victim in these complex procedures”. After these conclusions, “the assembly entrusted the permanent council with the task of proposing to the November plenary assembly an ad hoc mechanism that guarantees [aux victimes] a path of recognition and restoration »reported the CEF.
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