For the Minister of the Interior, the secrecy of confession imposed by canon law on priests does not prevail over criminal law. Gérald Darmanin thus affirmed Tuesday that the priests having knowledge of “crimes” against “children under 15 years”, had to “bring” these facts of pedocriminality “to justice” and not to oppose the secrecy of the confession.
The Minister was speaking to the National Assembly just after having received, as Minister of Worship, the President of the Conference of Bishops of France, Mgr Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, who had judged that the secrecy of confession was ” stronger than the laws of the Republic ”and therefore could not be broken.
Éric de Moulins-Beaufort asks for forgiveness
For his part, Bishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort affirmed at the end of this interview the “determination of all the bishops” to “make the protection of children an absolute priority, in close collaboration with the French authorities”.
The president of the French Bishops’ Conference also asked “forgiveness from the victims” for the “debate aroused by [ses] Remarks ”last week on the secrecy of confession“ stronger than the laws of the Republic ”, in a statement published after he was received by Gerald Darmanin at the Ministry of the Interior to explain.