The case resurfaced thirty-four years later. In 1990, a prostitute working in a brothel in Geneva, Switzerland, had mentioned the regular presence of Abbé Pierre in her establishment. The shocking statement was made live on French television. “The owner told us: come and look through the keyhole of the bathroom, there is someone waiting their turn. It was an abbé, it was Abbé Pierre and I saw him,” had swung Griselidis Real in the show “Ciel mon mardi”.
At the time, this testimony was not received with much credibility. The son of this prostitute turned poet even explains that his mother had been subjected to strong criticism and threats after her revelations, assures the RTS. As accusations of sexual assault against the man named Henri Grouès multiply, this testimony is now proving more credible. After three initial testimonies from an internal report targeting the priest in July, 17 new accusations of sexual violence were revealed in early September.
Although Swiss radio does not provide any new evidence regarding the presence of the founder of the Emmaüs community in the brothel, it does add a disturbing element. According to its investigation unit, Abbé Pierre had an affair with a woman from his community.
Degraded plaques and frescoes
“The latter accompanied him, in secret, during some of his trips,” our colleagues at RTS specify without revealing the nature of the relationship. Another woman living in Geneva specifies that the priest had sometimes warned women who approached him, “fearing potential slip-ups,” specifies the Swiss media.
Since the first accusations of sexual assault against Abbé Pierre, many municipalities or communities have announced that they want to rename places bearing the name of the religious leader. In Switzerland, a commemorative plaque was even sawn in two. Within the Emmaüs Foundation, many communities have also chosen to remove the name of Abbé Pierre or to erase the frescoes bearing his image.