60 “problematic priests”
Research raises allegations of abuse against the Pius Brotherhood
January 13, 2024, 10:34 p.m
Listen to article
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
Priests from the Catholic Pius Brotherhood are said to have abused believers for years. A Swiss newspaper says it conducted research in several countries for months. A person affected also tells his story.
The Swiss newspaper “Le Temps” has uncovered cases of sexual, physical and psychological violence within the ultra-conservative Catholic Pius Brotherhood in several countries. The French-language newspaper wrote that the Priestly Society of St. Pius A self-help group of abuse victims reported around 60 “problematic priests”.
The Society of St. Pius X is an association of priests founded in Switzerland in 1970 by the controversial French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre to protest against the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. The Pius Brotherhood, which describes itself as the “guardian of unadulterated Catholic doctrine,” says it is active in more than 60 countries. Its more than 590 priests work in seminaries and brotherhood schools, among other places.
According to its own information, the newspaper “Le Temps” spent several months researching the allegations of abuse against the Pius Brotherhood in Switzerland, Belgium and France and collected numerous witness statements. The reporters spoke to parents, former students and self-help groups.
The 41-year-old François de Riedmatten from Switzerland described to the newspaper attacks that he had suffered as a child at a boarding school in France. The perpetrator was a carer who took pleasure in the suffering of others and often abused them after showering. “He beat me up and kissed me straight after,” said the person concerned.
The research is also based on court proceedings against convicted perpetrators and more than 20 internal documents of the Pius Brotherhood, including letters and excerpts from internal investigations. According to “Le Temps”, the allegations concern the period from the founding of the Pius Brotherhood to 2020 and also countries outside Europe. It was also said that several clerics had confessed to the acts of abuse, but had not been convicted because the statute of limitations had expired.