Critics See Red Over French Clergy ID Card

The Pillar ^ | 5/15/23 | Luke Coppen

[marshmallow]

The French bishops’ conference is facing backlash after it unveiled a new identity card for clerics, with a scannable QR code that can convey whether a priest or deacon’s ministry is restricted.

The card uses a traffic light system, with green for a clear record, amber for restrictions not necessarily related to safeguarding, and red when a priest is no longer permitted to celebrate Mass publicly or hear confessions.

But the system has provoked criticism, with an victims-survivors advocate describing it as “one of the Catholic Church’s top three most stupid ideas.” Critics dismissed it as a gimmick that did not address the causes of abuse and questioned whether it infringed clerics’ privacy. Supporters said it would give parishes a more efficient and accurate way to check the credentials of visiting clergy.

The bishops’ conference unveiled the card May 5 after French bishops voted in 2021 and again in 2022 for a new national ID card system for bishops, priests, and deacons.

They adopted the measure following a devastating report on abuse in the French Catholic Church from 1950 to 2020 by the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church (CIASE). But ID cards were not among the report’s 45 recommendations.

The bishops wanted to enhance the existing “celebret” system, under which a priest seeking to celebrate the sacraments in a new parish may be asked to show a letter from their superior attesting that they are authorized to do so. The celebret — from the Latin for “may he celebrate” — is used widely throughout the Catholic world.

The French bishops aimed to standardize the celebret document, allow parishes to view up-to-date information on restrictions, and make it harder for imposters to pose as priests.

The ID card bears the user’s date of.....