The former priest was found dead in Saint-Etienne on Sunday. He had been released from prison on an electronic bracelet a few weeks ago, something the victims’ association “La Parole Libée” was unaware of.
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“This is important information which this time allows us to definitively turn the page”reacts Sunday June 23 on franceinfo Pierre-Emmanuel Germain-Thill of the victims’ association “La Parole Libée”, after the death of ex-priest Bernard Preynat at the age of 79 in Saint-Étienne.
The ex-priest was sentenced in 2020 to five years in prison for sexual assault on minors. He was kept in office by the diocese of Lyon until the fall of 2015 even though his actions had been known for a long time. This affair is the symbol of the malaise of the Church which had sealed the fate of the Primate of the Gauls, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin.
“At the same time”it’s his death “who taught me, who taught us, the victims, that he had been able to leave prison. For my part, I was opposed to it when I was asked for a reduced sentence and we did not had never been informed that her request for a reduced sentence had been accepted”he laments.
“He died at home in his bathroom on the Lord’s Day, quite a symbol. For us, it’s a page that is turning, but I am quite surprised that justice did not keep us informed that he was released. We were to have a follow-up to this request which was made by him at the end of last year. He therefore did not serve his entire sentence, we will say that there is divine justice today. if it exists”.
