216,000 Children Abused In French Catholic Church, French Archbishop: The War Against Pedophilia Concerns All Of Us

Illustration of the Catholic Church in France. (Wikimedia Commons/Jorge Lascar)

JAKARTA - More than 200,000 children have been victims of sexual abuse by French priests over the past 70 years, a major investigation released on Tuesday found and its authors accused the Catholic Church of turning a blind eye to too long and urging it for reform.

The revelations in France are the latest to rock the Roman Catholic Church, after a series of worldwide sexual abuse scandals, often involving children.

The church has shown "deep, total and even cruel indifference over the years," protecting itself rather than the victims of what constitutes systemic abuse, said Jean-Marc Sauve, head of the commission that compiled the report.

"Most of the victims were boys. Many of them were between the ages of 10 and 13," he said, citing Reuters on Oct. 5.

The church not only does not take the necessary steps to prevent abuse, it also fails to report it and sometimes knowingly puts children in contact with predators, he said.

Illustration of the Catholic Church in France. (Wikimedia Commons/Diliff)

The commission was set up by Catholic bishops in France in late 2018, to explain abuses and restore public confidence in the church at a time when congregations were shrinking. The commission has worked independently of the Church.

Sauve says the problem is still there. He added that the church until the 2000s showed complete disregard for victims and only started to really change its attitude in 2015-16.

The Catholic Church's teachings on matters such as sexuality, obedience and the chastity of the priesthood help create blind spots that allow sexual abuse by clergy to occur, Sauve said, adding that the church needs to reform how it approaches the issue in order to rebuild trust with society.

Sauve said the commission itself had identified about 2,700 victims through calls for testimony, and thousands more had been found in archives.

However, an extensive study by research groups and polls estimates that there were about 216,000 victims, and the number could rise to 330,000 if this includes harassment by lay members.

There have been about 2,900-3,200 suspected pedophiles in the French church over the past 70 years, he added.

France's findings come a year after Britain said the Catholic Church had received more than 900 complaints involving more than 3,000 cases of child sexual abuse in England and Wales between 1970 and 2015, and that there have been more than 100 allegations reported a year since 2016.

Separately, citing Euronews, the report comes after the conviction of a prominent pedophile priest hit the Catholic Church in France after a prominent priest was convicted last year.

Bernard Preynat was convicted of sexually abusing a minor and sentenced to five years in prison. She admits to abusing more than 75 boys over decades.

Illustration of the Catholic Church in France. (Wikimedia Commons/Diliff)

One of Preynat's victims, Francois Devaux, head of the La Parole Libérée (The Liberated Word) victims' group, told The Associated Press, "With this report, the French church will for the first time look for the root of this systemic problem. The deviant institution must reform itself. ."

He said the number of victims identified by the report was "minimal".

"Some of the victims didn't dare speak up or believe the commission," he said, expressing concern the church in France still "didn't understand" and trying to minimize its responsibilities.

The church must not only acknowledge the events, but also compensate the victims, Devaux said. "It is absolutely necessary that the church repair the harm caused by all these crimes, and (financial) compensation is the first step."

Preynat's case led to the resignation last year of the former archbishop of Lyon, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, who was accused of failing to report the abuses to civil authorities, when he learned of it in the 2010s.

France's highest court ruled earlier this year that Barbarin had not covered up the case.

Separately, the French Archbishop in a message to parishioners read during Sunday Masses across the country said the publication of the report was "a test of truth and a serious and serious moment."

"We will accept and study this conclusion in order to adjust our actions. The fight against pedophilia is of concern to all of us. Our support and prayers will continue to be extended to all those who have been harassed within the church," the message said.