The Vatican has been aware for years of the conduct of Abbot Pierre, who is now accused of sexual assault by several women, including minors, Pope Francis revealed on his return from his long trip to Asia on Friday 13 September. “I don’t know when the Vatican found out. I don’t know. I don’t know because I wasn’t here. [il a été élu en 2013]and it did not occur to me to investigate this. But certainly, after the death [de l’abbé Pierre, en 2007]That’s for sure. But first, I don’t know.”, The head of the Catholic Church responded to a question from World during a press conference on the plane connecting Singapore to Rome after a twelve-day trip through Asia. “Sexual abuse of children and minors is a crime! It is a shame! »the sovereign pontiff condemned, while the youngest known victim of Abbot Pierre was 8 years old at the time of the events.
The Pope also called for openness on the issue, implicitly approving the research work carried out on the initiative of the Emmaus organisation, which gave rise to the revelations about the attacks committed by its founder. “These facts must be clear, not hidden: working against abuse is something we must all do”, he said. Before the launch: “I am glad when these cases come to light.”
The Pope spoke for the first time since the Emmaus revelations, which, Following the first testimonies collected by Véronique Margron, the president of the Conference of Religious Men and Women of France (Corref) ordered an investigation by the independent firm Egaé. The result, published on July 17, revealed repeated sexual assaults by the former resistance fighter, who became a member of parliament and defender of the poor after the Second World War. Most of the victims were employees or volunteers of Emmaus, who reported forced touching and kissing between 1970 and 2005, two years before his death at the age of 94. One of them was 16 years old.
The youngest victim was 8 years old.
The publication of this first report convinced other victims to testify. On 6 September, Emmaus and the Abbé Pierre Foundation published a new note revealing more and more serious facts: the youngest victim was 8 years old. A case of forced fellatio, rape in the eyes of French law, was also reported.
The first testimonies date back to 1956 and raise the question of the silence that reigned around Abbot Pierre. “The informed bishops and those responsible for Emmaus suppressed the issues”, wrote the four researchers from the socio-historical research team of the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (CIASE), in a column published in The world July 20, after the publication of the Egaé survey.
You have 59.99% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
