In its letter addressed to the victims of Abbé Pierre, the Emmaus movement promises constant support. “We confirm our presence at your side”, can we read. This commitment responds to new testimonies, made public on Monday January 13 and added to the first revelations of sexual violence attributed to the priest and founder of Emmaüs, in July and then in September 2024.
In detail, the latest report from the specialized firm Egaé, commissioned by Emmaüs International, Emmaüs France and the Abbé-Pierre Foundation, reveals nine other incidents of sexual violence, including rape of a minor and a case of incest, bringing to light 33 the number of victims whose statements could be corroborated.
To date, no legal proceedings have been launched to respond to these testimonies. Contacted by franceinfo on Tuesday, the Paris prosecutor’s office responded that it had not been informed of the various facts attributed to Abbé Pierre, which means that no complaint was filed. Le religious being dead, theThe criminal actions against him are also inadmissible, as they have been extinguished. The facts are also, for the most part, prescribed. While pseveral alerts appear to have been ignored within the structures founded by Abbé Pierre, prosecutions for “non-denunciation” remain possible, but promise to be complex.
Victims can, however, initiate civil liability action, intended to repair damage. “Actions against his estate and against structures for which he worked are possible”Benjamin Moron-Puech, law professor, explained to franceinfo in September. According to him, the reasons given could be the “fault for negligence due to inaction” and the “vicarious liability”.
Within Emmaüs France, the possibility of compensating victims, sometimes heavily traumatized and marked by years of silence, is considered. “For 70 years we have been saying that we are the heirs [de l’abbé Pierre]. As heirs, we were able to benefit from everything the icon brought us. There is no reason why we should not also assume this person’s liabilities.”insists its general delegate, Tarek Daher, in the columns of Parisian. To do this, the charity plans to approach of the Recognition and Reparation Commission (CRR), he explains.
Born under the impetus of the Conference of Religious Men and Women of France (Corref) after the publication of the shocking report of the Sauvé commission on child crime in the Church, the CRR deals with sexual violence committed by members of religious congregations on victims, both adults and minors at the time of the events. The Independent National Authority for Recognition and Reparation (Inirr), created by the Conference of Bishops of France, also said “ready”last September, to take care of Abbé Pierre’s victims who were minors at the time of the events, in accordance with his mission letter, with compensation of up to 60,000 euros.
The structures inherited from Abbé Pierre will not avoid an examination of conscience either. The foundation announced the establishment, from February, ofa study commission on the violence committed by the former favorite personality of the French. It will be chaired by sociologist Céline Béraud, director of studies at the School of Advanced Studies in Social Sciences (EHESS), as part of a research agreement with the establishment. The aim will be in particular “to understand and analyze the mechanisms that made it possible to produce silence for several decades around these very serious facts and led to the priest being condemned neither internally by the Church nor denounced to civil justice”, explained the researcher, cited by Emmaüs, during her appointment in October.
At the same time, the Abbé-Pierre foundation strives to erase the tributes paid to the priest in its various structures and announced that it had launched steps to change your name. “This is a cumbersome legal procedure” and long to put in place, however, warns management. The place of memory dedicated to Abbot Pierre in Esteville (Seine-Maritime) has definitively closed its doors, and the nine employees who made up the structure were dismissed by a letter received at the end of December, reports “ici Normandie”.
The collection of testimonies from Abbé Pierre’s victims will also have to continue in the coming months. During the publication of its latest report on Monday, the Egaé cabinet, specializing in the prevention of violence, particularly sexist and sexual, announced that its mission would end on January 31.. “A new system will take over, with a page on the three sites of our organizations and professionals to welcome this word”promised the general delegate of Emmaüs France, Tarek Daher. “It will probably be managed by France Victimes, which already works with the Church,” he continued.
Contacted, the France Victimes federation of associations confirms to franceinfo that discussions are underway on the issue. The telephone messaging and email address set up since July by the Egaé cabinet to listen to the victims of Abbé Pierre should not completely disappear, but will refer people to the new structure, according to information from franceinfo.
The task promises to be immense for the successors to the Egaé cabinet. In a press release published Monday, the Conference of Bishops of France said it expected, after “this third series of testimonies”discovering many other victims. In its final report, Egaé emphasizes for its part that the stories collected in six months “absolutely do not allow us to draw up an exhaustive inventory of Abbé Pierre’s behavior.”
