Posted
Update
A month after the publication of the Sauvé report on pedocriminality in the Catholic Church, and when the Conference of French Bishops in Lourdes (Hautes-Pyrénées) opened on Tuesday, some representatives have already decided to act. Example within the bishopric of Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin).
For three years, in the heart of the bishopric of Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin), an American accent has resonated in the floors. Sister Susannah Kelly is the Archbishop’s Delegate for Sexual Abuse Issues. Expert on the subject, and trained to listen to victims, she receives and supports all those who wish. One of them, Aude Ciolek, was raped and sexually assaulted by her parish priest throughout her adolescence. It took her 25 years to talk about it, encouraged by Sister Susannah. “It was by talking with her that I understood that all the abuse suffered had a strong impact on my life as a woman”, she explains.
Support is unprecedented within the diocese. A revolution that we owe to a proactive policy led since 2017 by the Archbishop of Strasbourg. “It was very important that Monsignor Luc Ravel agreed to speak frankly about this issue. I think the victims felt they could be taken seriously “, believes Sister Susannah, who also trains priests and lay people working for the diocese.