The two journalists report in particular a letter from the Vatican dated November 11, 1955 sent to Alexandre Renard, the bishop of Versailles, for the Sommer to open “legal proceedings”. “It seems that ‘inhonestae’ relationships [déshonorantes] The abbot were less serious than it was said, “replied Alexandre Renard, who insists in parallel on the fact that in France the priest has become” a symbol in the eyes of the masses which he galvanizes like a prophet “.
Accusations of sexual assault against Father Pierre: the Vatican was aware of “fall 1955”, according to a book-investigation
“No trace in his archives”
The CEF announces that it “will get closer to the nunciature (Embassy of the Holy See, Editor’s note) and the Vatican to shed light on these elements of which it was not aware, having no trace in its archives”.
It is “a good thing that the truth can be done, and that is why the CEF opened the archives of the National Center for the Archives of the Church of France (CNAEF) in September 2024, and asked the Holy See to investigate in its archives”, underlines the conference of bishops on Thursday.
-Long iconic figure of the defense of the destitute, Henri Grouès, his real name, was targeted at the end of January by 33 accusations of sexual violence, some emanating from people who were children at the time of the alleged facts. These sexual assaults and rapes, committed between the 1950s and 2000s, have been revealed in three reports since July 2024.
Abbé Pierre case: no investigation will be opened, the non-denunciation of the facts covered by the prescription
The silence of the French church
In France, the church archives, open in mid-September early in the face of emotion aroused, showed how, from the 1950s, the episcopal hierarchy had silenced on behavior deemed “problematic” but never named. These documents, consulted in the fall by AFP, complete what the president of the CEF Eric de Moulins-Beaufort said in September: “at least some bishops” were aware “as early as 1955-1957” of the “serious behavior” of Father Pierre “with regard to women”.
Since the new revelations of the investigation book, the Vatican has not reacted and has not followed up on AFP requests. Nunciature in France said it was “no comments to do” on the subject. For its part, the French Embassy near the Holy See replied that “has any additional elements to bring to this case”.
