The national canonical criminal court (TPCN) found Father Bernard Tartu, an 89-year-old priest of the diocese of Tours, guilty of sexual violence against several children, as learned on Thursday, November 28 in a press release from the diocese. It is the first time that a decision of this French Catholic ecclesiastical court – created in December 2022 by the Conference of Bishops of France and the Vatican after the report of the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (Ciase) – is known. public.
In 1954, Father Tartu had founded the choir of the Little Singers of Touraine, attached to the cathedral of Tours, and through which a thousand young people participated until the early 2000s. Encouraged by the Ciase revelations, several victims attended. Choir grouped in December 2021 in a collective called “Liberated Voices”, which today has about 70 members. Nine victims had gone to the TPCN for acts committed between 1968 and 1985, which resulted in the statute of limitations before civil justice. At the time, the victims were between 8 and 18 years old.
The octogenarian priest was sentenced by the TPCN to “perpetual prohibition of the public celebration of any liturgical act and any sacrament”with the exception of the right to celebrate Mass only in private, the diocese press release states. He is also surprised by a “Perpetual prohibition from exercising any ministry of spiritual accompaniment to minors”. The TPCN also decided a “house arrest”according to the text.
“We had to face a lot of resistance”
This decision came as a relief to the majority of victims present on Friday at a press conference organized jointly by the diocese, the Voix Libérations collective, the Independent National Authority for Reparation and Recognition and the France Victims 37 association. “This conviction reinforces our goal that justice be served, that the guilty be held accountable for their actions, and that these heinous crimes will never again be tolerated or covered up.reacted Christian Guéritauld, coordinator of Voix Libérations. We had to face a lot of resistance, misunderstanding, criticism and sometimes even threats. But every time a brave voice was raised to denounce, our determination grew. Every step forward is a tribute to their bravery. »
You have 54.63% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
