The former bishop of Créteil, Michel Santier, already accused of sexual violence against two adult men, is accused of sexual violence by three new people.
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The bishopric of Val-de-Marne calls on the potential victims of the former bishop of Créteil Michel Santier to come forward, while three new people accuse him of sexual violence when he was a priest in Coutances, reports France Bleu Paris.
These three new charges relate to facts that occurred while Michel Santier was a priest in Coutances, in the Manche department. It was also in Coutances that he was accused of sexual violence against two adult men “in the 1990s”, during prayer training. He was also sanctioned for “spiritual abuse having led to voyeurism” by the Vatican a year ago, but the diocese of Créteil revealed it only two weeks ago.
Although all the denounced facts happened in the Channel, his successor to the bishopric of Créteil, Mgr Dominique Blanchet, considers that it is necessary to“to consider the possibility that Bishop Santier could have committed such abuses within the framework of his episcopate in Créteil. If this were the case, [il] begs the victims who would like it, to come forward to the diocesan listening cell [[email protected]]so as to initiate as much as possible for them a path of recognition and reparation“.
Dominique Blanchet says he hears the anger of his followers and makes his mea culpa: “I am aware of your reproach that I was able to believe Bishop Santier when he said that he had committed these acts only on the two victims [déjà connues]. I sincerely ask your forgiveness.” The Vice-President of the Conference of Bishops of France also undertakes to bring to the Holy See the question of the “good level of clarity” and transparency “so that everyone feels protected and respected” within the Church.