Catholic Bishops of France (CEF) react following the publication by Emmaüs, religious community, of new testimonies from victims of Abbé Pierre: the President of the CEF requests the opening of an investigation (Emmaus is an international solidarity movement founded in Paris in 1949 by Catholic priest and Capuchin friar Abbé Pierre to combat poverty and homelessness.)
Friday, January 17, 2025:
Catholic Bishops' President of the CEF requests the opening of an investigation
In view of the seriousness and scale of the new facts revealed this week by Emmaüs and in two documentaries broadcast on national television channels, concerning sexual assaults committed by Abbé Pierre on women, children and people in precarious situations during a period extending from at least the 1970s to the 2000s, Mgr Éric de Moulins-Beaufort, President of the Conference of Bishops of France (CEF), calls on the Justice system to open an investigation.
If the CEF opened its archives last September, and Emmaüs set up a historical commission of inquiry, only Justice has the necessary means of investigation to allow the whole truth to be revealed about the silences and non-denunciations from which Abbé Pierre could have benefited.
This is why the President of the CEF has filed a report with the Paris Public Prosecutor for failure to report rape and sexual assault on vulnerable people and minors. This is so that the Public Prosecutor's Office can assess the appropriateness of opening an investigation to determine the conditions under which the facts mentioned could not have been reported to the courts for all these years.
To the victims who have found the courage to testify about the sexual assaults they suffered, some of whom were minors at the time of the events, Bishop Éric de Moulins-Beaufort wishes to express once again his immense sorrow and his closeness. He encourages anyone who may have suffered sexual violence at the hands of Father Pierre to come forward, if they wish, to one of the Church's listening services, or those set up by Emmaüs.
Finally, he would like to acknowledge the work of truth that the Emmaüs movement has undertaken by listening to victims.
In view of the seriousness and scale of the new facts revealed this week by Emmaüs and in two documentaries broadcast on national television channels, concerning sexual assaults committed by Abbé Pierre on women, children and people in precarious situations during a period extending from at least the 1970s to the 2000s, Mgr Éric de Moulins-Beaufort, President of the Conference of Bishops of France (CEF), calls on the Justice system to open an investigation.
If the CEF opened its archives last September, and Emmaüs set up a historical commission of inquiry, only Justice has the necessary means of investigation to allow the whole truth to be revealed about the silences and non-denunciations from which Abbé Pierre could have benefited.
This is why the President of the CEF has filed a report with the Paris Public Prosecutor for failure to report rape and sexual assault on vulnerable people and minors. This is so that the Public Prosecutor's Office can assess the appropriateness of opening an investigation to determine the conditions under which the facts mentioned could not have been reported to the courts for all these years.
To the victims who have found the courage to testify about the sexual assaults they suffered, some of whom were minors at the time of the events, Bishop Éric de Moulins-Beaufort wishes to express once again his immense sorrow and his closeness. He encourages anyone who may have suffered sexual violence at the hands of Father Pierre to come forward, if they wish, to one of the Church's listening services, or those set up by Emmaüs.
Finally, he would like to acknowledge the work of truth that the Emmaüs movement has undertaken by listening to victims.
Source: https://eglise.catholique.fr/espace-presse/communiques-de-presse/560134-reaction-cef-nouveaux-temoignage-emmaus-abbe-pierre/
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