Posted on 09/16/2024 11:13:28 AM PDT by ConservativeMind
A foundation that supports a prominent Catholic movement in France is changing its name after revealing nearly 20 fresh abuse allegations against the famed Abbé Pierre, a formerly beloved Capuchin priest who died in 2007.
A Sept. 6 statement released by Emmaus International detailed new allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct by Pierre, who founded the movement in 1949.
A previous report had detailed allegations involving at least seven victims, including one who was a minor at the time of her alleged assault. Emmaus France said it first received a report from a woman accusing Pierre of sexual assault in 2023.
The group said it commissioned consulting firm Groupe Egaé to set up a system to allow additional alleged victims to come forward. Since then, Groupe Egaé said, at least 17 additional victims have come forward alleging “sexual violence committed by Abbé Pierre against girls and women.”
In light of allegations against its founder, the Abbé Pierre Foundation, has “decided to change its name and has begun the necessary paperwork,” Emmaus International said last week.
In addition to the foundation name change, the Emmaus France board will submit a proposal for the removal of “Abbé Pierre, founder” from its logo.
A museum and cultural center at the house where Pierre lived in Esteville, France, meanwhile, will “remain closed for good.”
The group said panel of experts will be commissioned to “apprehend and explain the flaws in the movement that allowed Abbé Pierre to behave as he did for more than 50 years.”
“Now, we must also confront the unacceptable suffering that he forced upon others.”
Groupe Egaé’s full report details allegations of Pierre’s forcible touching, rape, sexual remarks, and other sexual contact with adult women and with children. The allegations received “took place between the 1950s and the early 2000s.”
(Excerpt) Read more at ncregister.com ...
Wow. What a wonderful leadership taking evil seriously, which is why theY joined the group.
Can you imagine bishops and the vatican acting like this with rupniak or legioneres,...? I would faint.
This is they way. Cut out the cancer, all of it. Cannot get to heaven without purity.
But, a word of caution. France is an extremely anti-clerical country, and the criminal justice system is such that if the state is out to get you, you have no chance (remember Dreyfuss). This may be an attempt by living members and the organization to head off other charges.
Also, when a perpetrator is dead allegations come out of the woodwork. Back when I was a very young lawyer I worked on a case for the local bus authority. A bus was heading back to the garage, empty, with an out of service placard, when it was involved in an accident. Within three weeks there were nearly 50 individuals who had filed claims contending that they were on the bus and were injured. It took awhile to untangle.
Many of the claims against the church here locally involved long-dead priests and acts that allegedly took place 50 years or more ago. There are statutes of limitation for a reason -- it was stupid for legislatures to remove the statute wrt these crimes.
It’s not named after him. What the...?
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