When the law of the Church is incompatible with the law of the Republic. Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, president of the Conference of Bishops of France will be received by Gerald Darmanin “early next week” to “explain his words”, said his entourage. This convocation follows the declarations of the one who is also the Archbishop of Reims about the publication of the Sauvé report reporting thousands of sexual abuses of minors within the Catholic Church since 1950.
On Wednesday, he said that the secrecy of confession “imposed” on priests and was “stronger than the laws of the Republic”. A statement which suggests that even if a man of the Church comes to confess to being the author of a sexual assault on a child, the priest receiving these confessions is held in secrecy by the law of the Church and cannot it report to the police.
“There is nothing stronger than the laws of the Republic”
Without much surprise, the declaration of Bishop de Moulins-Beaufort caused controversy and aroused strong reactions in the political class. “There is nothing stronger than the laws of the Republic in our country, it fits in one sentence, and it is very clear”, reacted Thursday Gabriel Attal at the end of the Council of Ministers.
“The President of the Republic asked the Minister of the Interior to receive the president of the Conference of Bishops of France so that things are clear”, he assured, confirming the information of Gerald’s entourage Darmanin.
“We have to find a way to do it differently”
Eric de Moulins-Beaufort also assured in his statement that he was looking for an alternative to lifting this secret. “We must find a way to do it differently”, he explained, specifying that the Conference of Bishops of France (CEF) would look “very closely at the recommendation of the Ciase” (Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church).
The latter recommended Tuesday to the Church authorities to relay a clear message to the confessors and the faithful, on the obligation of the confessor to report to the judicial and administrative authorities cases of sexual violence inflicted on a minor or a vulnerable person. “We must not oppose the secrecy of confession to the laws of the Republic since these do not impose its lifting,” said the president of the CEF. Canon law which imposes on priests the secrecy of confession as absolute and inviolable (…) is therefore not contrary to French criminal law, ”he said in a press release published on Wednesday evening.