Pope Francis faces criticism for allegedly ignoring sexual abuse claims against French priest
The Vatican is facing questions over its handling of sexual abuse allegations involving the French priest who founded the Emmaüs charity.
For the first time, Pope Francis has addressed the scandal that rocked France after seven women accused the late Abbé Pierre – often hailed as a modern-day saint – of sexual abuse, in a report published this summer.
During an in-flight press conference on his return from Asia, the Pope admitted that the Vatican was aware of allegations that Abbé Pierre was a sexual predator.
The pontiff called the founder of the anti-poverty charity Emmaüs “a terrible sinner”.
“What did the Vatican know about Abbé Pierre? I don’t know, because I wasn’t there at the time,” said Pope Francis, who was elected in 2013.
“What is certain is that after his death, we knew.”
Abbé Pierre died in 2007 at the age of 94.
During his lifetime, the priest was a beloved national hero and venerated as one of France’s holiest do-gooders and defenders of the poor.
The former resistance fighter and member of parliament topped a popular annual newspaper ranking of France’s favourite people 17 times.
In 2004, he received the country’s highest honour, Le Grand Croix de l’Ordre de la Légion d’Honneur.
But his legacy of humanitarian work hid a dark past, which Pope Francis said must be condemned.
Pope Francis said: “He’s a man who did so much good, but he’s also a sinner.
“We have to speak clearly about these things, and not hide them. Abuse is, in my judgement, something demonic, because every type of abuse destroys the dignity of the person.”
‘Not trustworthy’
François Devaux, who founded an association for victims of church paedophiles, had harsh words for the Pope, saying he ignored at least a dozen attempts to reach out to him about incidents of sexual abuse in the church.
Mr Devaux told French news channel France Info: “I believe he is not trustworthy. We sent twelve letters to the Pope, at least two of which were hand-delivered to him, and he has never responded to any of our letters.
“It is time for us to turn our backs on this institution.”
Following the findings of the July report commissioned by Emmaüs France, Emmaüs International and the Abbé Pierre Foundation, another 17 women came forward earlier this month with accusations ranging from forced kisses, unsolicited touching and forced fellatio, to sexual penetration with an adult woman and sexual contact with a child.
The youngest victim was eight years old at the time.
The victims included Emmaüs volunteers, hotel or hospital staff, people he met at public events and members of Abbé Pierre’s close family.
Growing allegations
One woman reported that she was forced to watch the priest masturbate and then forced to perform fellatio on him in her Paris apartment in 1989.
She also claimed he whipped her with a belt and that he expressed a desire to have a threesome with her and another woman.
Another woman claimed Abbé Pierre touched her breasts, forcibly kissed her with his tongue and asked about the colour of her underpants when she was eight years old.
The alleged incidents took place from the 1950s to 2005 and span France, Morocco, Switzerland and the US. The latest testimonies bring the total number of victims to 24.
In reaction to the Pope’s comments, the French Bishops’ Conference pledged to open their archives to researchers.
But Mr Devaux also described the Pope’s comments calling for a full investigation, as insincere “doublespeak”.
“If the Church were no longer afraid of transparency, it would not open the archives on Abbé Pierre alone, but on all the facts of sexual assault,” he said.