(Vatican City) Pope Francis said he was “available” to receive members of the Independent Commission on Sexual Violence in the Church (CIASE), authors of the Sauvé report, the president of the Bishops’ Conference announced on Monday de France (CEF), a few hours after a meeting with the Pope.
“The Pope told us […] that he wished first of all to hear us and showed himself completely available on the principle of receiving the members of the CIASE. It now remains to find the opportune date ”, declared Bishop Éric de Moulins-Beaufort during a press briefing in Rome.
The members of the commission were to be received by François on December 9, but the meeting was postponed, sine die, officially for reasons of agenda of the sovereign pontiff.
Monday morning, the Pope received in private audience a delegation from the CEF, including its president, two vice-presidents and his spokesperson Hugues de Woillemont to discuss in particular the report (Jean-Marc) Sauvé on child crime in the Church Catholic since the 1950s, which was commissioned by the French Church.
“We had a meeting of more than an hour, in a tone both serious, but very fraternal,” Bishop de Moulins-Beaufort told journalists. “He listened to us with a lot of attention”, “thanked” and “commented with a lot of encouragement” for “that we continue the path we started”, he added.
Regarding the methodology, which has been the subject of criticism even within the Catholic world, “he returned to the idea that ancient facts must be interpreted according to hermeneutics (reading grid editor’s note) of the era. We have also been able to argue that hermeneutics has changed because today we know what victims suffer, the extent of the trauma. And that, the Pope said immediately: “You are right, that is the important point” ”.
The Pope, however, did not mention the text of the Catholic Academy of France – an unofficial body that brings together Catholic intellectuals – whose eight members had denounced the “flawed methodology” according to them, the Sauvé report.
This meeting comes a week after François’ call for “caution” on the “interpretation” of this report, which he had confided not to have read.
“I never really doubted the support of the Pope […] on his will that the Church emerge from an ambiguous attitude on these matters […] and today on the attention to be paid to victims ”, declared Mgr de Moulins-Beaufort.