Sauvé attributed this drop to a lower attendance of the French to Catholic areas and not to the actions of the church, which only after the appearance of media scandals began to take measures to combat pedophilia.
Until then, he denounced, there was “a deep and total indifference, even cruel, with the victims,” because all his efforts were aimed at “protecting the institution” and “keeping the clergy in the priesthood.”
Among the recommendations of the commission is to review the confidentiality of confession so that it cannot be applied in the event of the commission of crimes, to introduce lay people in the governing bodies of the church to prevent the religious from accumulating all power, to adapt the formation of priests or review sexual morality, now considered a taboo within the institution.
More pedophilia scandals
France is not an isolated case. At least 3,677 children were victims of religious abuse in Germany between 1946 and 2014, according to a 2018 report, and, according to independent lawyers, more than 11,000 complaints were filed in the United States.
Other scandals broke out in Chile, Canada or Australia. In April, leading experts for the UN, but not speaking on their behalf, asked Pope Francis to act and expressed their “great concern” over the numerous accusations.
The Argentine pontiff has made the fight against sexual assaults, behaviors that make the clergy an “instrument of Satan”, one of his priorities and public in 2020 a Manuel to handle complaints in the Church.
With information from AFP, EFE and Reuters