While, on November 8, the president of the Conference of Bishops of France, Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, had launched an appeal to bishops guilty of sexual violence to make himself known, Jean-Pierre Gallle has admitted “gestures moved to an adult woman “.
by Sarah Belouezane
With the serious air of the one who particularly weighs his words, the president of the Conference of Bishops of France, Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, had, Tuesday, November 8, launched an appeal: that all those who “among us ( …) Got guilty of acts of this kind made it known, “he said. By “acts of this kind”, the man of the Church heard sexual assaults and violence of all kinds committed by priests on their flocks. As recognized by Eric de Moulins-Beaufort on the occasion of the Reunion of the Hierarchs of the Church of France in Lourdes (Hautes-Pyrénées), eleven former bishops were or are, in one way or another, put In question in cases of sexual violence. If, among the concerned, eight were known, three names remained secret. One of them has just been revealed on Wednesday November 16.
The Call of Eric de Moulins-Beaufort was probably heard by Jean-Pierre Grallet, Archbishop emeritus of Strasbourg, who, in a letter, recognized a sexual assault. “At the end of the 1980s, when I was a Franciscan religious, I had inappropriate gestures towards a major young woman, behavior that I deeply regret,” he wrote.
The former archbishop admits that a report has been made to justice and that a canonical investigation is underway against him. Enough to put into perspective the possible spontaneity of such a confession. Man indicates a few words later having wanted to “contribute to the process of truth” and “assume” his “responsibility”. And to add: “I got lost and I injured a person. The forgiveness I asked him, I also express it to all his relatives, as well as to all those who, today, will be bruised , in shock from this revelation. “
Dark Table
In a press release published in the process, the current Archbishop of Strasbourg, Luc Ravel, said the “real punishment” and the “great sadness” with which this confession was received in the diocese. For him, these are “serious facts” which were reported to him by the victim himself in December 2021. A report was then made to the Strasbourg prosecutor’s office last January. On Wednesday afternoon, this one announced the opening of a criminal investigation. For his part, Eric de Moulins-Beaufort expressed his “compassion for the person who was the victim of this serious behavior on the part of a religious later become bishop”.
The affair thus still blackens a particular painting in the Church of France in matters of sexual violence. A year after the conclusions of the Independent Commission on sexual abuse in the Church, which had identified a dizzying number of victims, the faithful and the general public discover that rapes and other attacks can also be the result of priests called to take Subsequently of the gallon in the institution. Jean-Pierre Grallet, Archbishop Emeritus, denounces himself a few days after Jean-Pierre Ricard, for his part Cardinal.
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