It is time to take action. A collective of associations and victims called on the Conference of Bishops of France on Monday before its plenary assembly at the beginning of November so that it “recognizes the responsibility” of the Catholic Church and gives “a concrete follow-up” to the recommendations of the Sauvé report on child crime as well as a calendar.
The 120 or so bishops of France are due to meet from November 2 to 8 in Lourdes and devote around 40% of their work to the subject of “the fight against violence and sexual assault on minors”. “From words to deeds!” “, Claims that is then” recognized and officially pronounced the responsibility of the Church “, according to a statement released Monday.
This collective was born in the wake of the submission, on October 5, of the conclusions of the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church (Ciase) to the French episcopate and to religious orders and congregations. “We are united to shake things up. We do not feel a Church, through its bishops, determined to reform ”, explains to AFP Olivier Savignac, member of the collective and president of Parler et Revivre.
3,000 predators
To support the reform he calls for, “From words to deeds!” “Proposes to the bishops and religious leaders to work with them on” the development of a charter detailing the modalities and the implementation schedule “of the recommendations of the Ciase report, in order to” ensure the follow-up of the effective implementation of these recommendations ”.
“There are things that concern the Vatican. What will be the steps with Rome? We need transparency and a working methodology to move forward, ”comments François Devaux, member of the collective. “From words to deeds!” »Regrets also the few invitations addressed to the victims. This creates “opacity, an inter-self and a withdrawal” and generates “the anger of the victims”, indicates François Devaux.
La Ciase estimates that since 1950, 216,000 people over the age of 18 have been subjected to violence or sexual assault during their minority, by clerics (priests or deacons) or religious men and women. It figures about 3,000 the number of predators involved in 70 years.