“I first wanted to express my great shame at what we heard, and which far exceeds what we expected …” A few hours after the publication of the Sauvé report, the result of two and a half years of investigation into the acts of pedocriminality in the French Church, the tone is serious in the diocese of Nantes. Bishop Monsignor Laurent Percerou made a point of appearing in person in front of the press on Tuesday afternoon to address his thoughts to the “very many victims”. “We hear their cries,” he continues, while 330,000 people were allegedly sexually abused in their childhood by clerics, religious, or lay people, according to this report.
If the bishop regrets that “the sin of a few falls on everyone”, the man accepts a collective responsibility. “These facts were minimized, we moved priests from post to post when there were rumors… We hushed up cases and relied on the silence of the victims. We have to recognize it today. “He also questions” the abuse of power and the abuse of authority which sometimes leads, the most perverse, to sexual abuse. ” A position sometimes provoked by the way “in which priests and bishops live their responsibilities”, according to him.
A regional listening unit
But the Church has not completely stood idly by in recent years, wants to believe Monsignor Laurent Percerou. Evidenced by this regional reception and listening unit, set up in Pays-de-la-Loire several years ago. Composed of six people, it has collected the testimony of 71 victims since 2016. “We know that there are many more. In Vendée alone, there are
Several dozens », Reports Jean-Louis Pilet, the referent of this cell which aims to orient the victims, on the psychological and legal aspects, and to systematically report the facts to the public prosecutor. A total of 65 attackers have been identified in the area, the vast majority having died, according to the cell.
People who will therefore not be able to be tried and provide the difficult but necessary reparation awaited today by the victims. “A package for psychological help can be decided, gives Monsignor Laurent Percerou as the first lead. It will not be easy, but a call for donations can be made to the faithful. It will not be a question of making their pockets but of carrying all together the sin of a few. “