One month after the report of the CIASE, the French episcopate, which holds its plenary assembly from 2 to 8 November, is put in notice to act by the Catholics. And the associations of victims, who feel kept out of the way, count well to impose their vote.
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Four weeks after the publication of the seminary observation and the recommendations of the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church (CIASE), on October 5, the some one hundred and twenty French bishops meet in Lourdes (Hautes-Pyrenees) For their autumn plenary assembly from Tuesday 2 to Monday, November 8th. Five half-days will be devoted to the “fight against sexual violence and aggression” and the report of the Commission chaired by Jean-Marc saved, before the votes on resolutions, Monday morning.
After years of procrastination in the face of revelations on sexual violence committed by priests or religious, the episcopate is, on all sides, put in notice to act to repair and to reform, and that to prevent New violence. The Lourdes meeting has a last chance since CIASE estimated at 216,000 the number of people today major that would have been attacked by a priest or a religious in their minority. This figure amounts to 330,000 if one includes those attacked by a secularism on ecclesial mission.
“Anger” of Catholics
The pressure is exercised from all sides. Published by the daily The cross on October 28, an IFOP survey, made online from October 20 to 22 from 997 major Catholics, shows that 85% of them say” angry ” After the publication of the CIASE report and 76% consider that the response of the hierarchy was not up to the revelations (among regular practitioners, only 49% consider it to be). Nine out of ten Catholics are in favor of “forgiveness for the victims”, “entrusts responsibilities to women” and “changes his speech on sexuality”. This “angry”, bishops also perceived it in faithful at meetings they have organized in their dioceses since October 5, especially among those who are very engaged in ecclesial life.
Some Catholics have taken collective initiatives to ensure that inertia or cosmetics do not end up prevailing. At the origin of a hashtag #Aussimoneglise, a collective called, in The cross , to” give a concrete sequel to this report, at the height of the situation “. These believers say that it “must pass measures to a real reform”, “even in certain theological and disciplinary elaborations”. They consider that these reforms “will not be decided, nor even less being, between the bishops alone”. They ask for “an ambitious French synodal approach” which embark all the laity volunteers. They claim the institution of an “Independent Commission for Follow-up” of the implementation of the CIASE recommendations. It is also the wish of the French-speaking Catholic Conference (CCBF), which moves from “the disturbing inertia of which the Conference of the Bishops of France (CEF) has so far shown”. “You can no longer be judges and parties,” adds the CCBF, who wants “urgent structural reforms”.
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