At least 10,000 minors have been sexually abused in the Church in France since 1950

At least 10,000 children have been victims of pedophile priests since the 1950s in France, as revealed on Tuesday by an investigation by the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (Ciase) of the French country.

The figure takes into account 6,500 testimonies already collected by the Commission, but also deceased victims and those who do not wish to speak. To refine this figure, the Commission asked the National Institute for Health and Medical Research (Inserm) to investigate the number of cases of sexual abuse in the general population. At the same time, the Commission visited a third of the dioceses to examine the archives.

The work took a long time, since this Commission was created by the episcopate in 2018. The final report will be submitted in October, with recommendations, in particular on compensation for victims.

For its part, the French Episcopal Conference is trying to move forward more quickly and will decide on a possible compensation at its next meeting, scheduled for the end of March, without waiting for the conclusions of the report.

In November 2019, three quarters of the bishops have already voted in favor of an indemnity fixed in advance, but its concrete implementation seems delicate.

Since, dioceses have seen their revenues decrease due to the covid-19 crisis, which kept the temples closed and, therefore, the alms of the faithful.

In addition, many members of the clergy have seen Catholics express their displeasure that their contributions are used to pay for the damages caused by some clergy.

The latest reports on child abuse

However, some associations, even within the church, They believe the figures do not reflect the reality of the abuses that have been committed with impunity over the years.

In parallel, the French Church continues to regularly publish reports on pedophilia, the last in the period between September 2018 and September 2020, two years during which 320 victims of abuse were registered in 80 of the 100 dioceses in which the country is divided.

Among these cases, 67 were taken by the bishops to the prosecutor’s office for events prior to 2000 and 43 for events after this year.

Of the 208 suspected attackers who are still alive, 191 were identified by the victims, 8 are being prosecuted, 5 imprisoned or subject to follow-up measures such as electronic bracelets and 4 were released after serving their sentences.

During this same period, according to the report, 57 clergymen were provisionally suspended and 13 sentenced to canonical sentences, including his expulsion from the clergy.

The general idea within the French Episcopal Conference, shown by its president, Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, is that most of the abuse dates back to the 1970s and 1980s, with many victims who are now breaking the silence.

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