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Abbé Pierre affair: Pope Francis reveals that the Vatican was informed of accusations of sexual violence
On Friday, September 13, Pope Francis acknowledged that the Vatican knew about these acts of violence and sexual assaults, without specifying precisely how long this had been going on.
(France 2)
On Friday, September 13, Pope Francis acknowledged that the Vatican knew about these acts of violence and sexual assaults, without specifying precisely how long this had been going on.
During the closing press conference of his trip to Asia, on board the plane that was bringing him back, Friday, September 13, Pope Francis responded to a French journalist: “What did the Vatican know about Abbé Pierre? I don’t know, because I wasn’t there at the time. What is certain is that after his death, we knew.” Elected pope in 2013, six years after the death of Abbé Pierre, he continues: “Despite all the good he did, we discover that he was a terrible sinner.”
The term does not go down well with victims’ associations. “This exercise of transparency once one is cornered is not very worthy of the Catholic religion. The terrible sinner, I believe it is him [le pape François]”Abbé Pierre is sick.”says François Devaux, a member of the Parole libérée association. Despite the still strong opacity within the Church, Pope Francis is considered to be the one who has advanced the cause, organizing the very first conference to listen to victims in 2019 and requiring the systematic transmission of cases revealed within dioceses to civil justice.