French clergy abused thousands of kids over past 70 years: Report
Church failed to prevent and report abuse, sometimes even put children in touch with predators
VATICAN CITY/PARIS : Pope Francis "learnt with sorrow" about the content of an investigation into sexual abuse in the French Catholic Church, a Vatican statement said yesterday.
"First of all, his thoughts go to the victims, with great sorrow, for their wounds," the statement said, adding that the Pope also felt gratitude for the courage they had shown in denouncing what they had been through.
"(His thoughts go to) the Church of France so that in the awareness of this terrible reality... it may embark on a path of redemption," the statement added.
French clergy have sexually abused more than 200,000 children over the past 70 years, a major investigation released yesterday found, and its authors accused the Catholic Church of turning a blind eye for too long.
The Church had shown "deep, total and even cruel indifference for years", protecting itself rather than the victims of what was systemic abuse, said Mr Jean-Marc Sauve, head of the commission that compiled the report.
Most of the victims were boys, he said, many of them aged between 10 and 13.
The Church not only did not take the necessary measures to prevent abuse but also failed to report it and sometimes knowingly put children in touch with predators, he added.
The head of the French conference of bishops Eric de Moulins-Beaufort said the Church was shamed. He asked for forgiveness and promised to act.
The revelations in France are the latest to rock the Roman Catholic Church, after a series of sexual abuse scandals around the world, often involving children.
The Church must take responsibility for what happened, the commission said, and ensure reports of abuse are transmitted to judicial authorities. It must also provide victims with adequate financial compensation, "which, despite not being sufficient, is nonetheless indispensable as it completes the recognition process".
Mr Sauve said the commission itself had identified around 2,700 victims through a call for testimony, and thousands more had been found in archives.
A wide-ranging study by research and polling groups estimated there had been around 216,000 victims, and the number could rise to 330,000 when including abuse by lay members.
There have been around 2,900 to 3,200 suspected paedophiles in the French Church over the last 70 years, Mr Sauve added.
Mr Francois Devaux, a victim of church abuse and founder of victims' association La Parole Liberee, told church representatives at the report's presentation: "You are a disgrace to our humanity. In this hell, there have been abominable mass crimes... but there has been even worse, betrayal of trust... betrayal of children."
He accused the Church of cowardice and thanked the commission, saying the report would prove a turning point: "You finally bring victims an institutional recognition of the responsibility of the Church." - REUTERS
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