Six months ago, when were published, July 17, 2024 in The Cross et The lifethe first testimonies reporting attacks committed by Abbé Pierre, some may have thought that Henri Grouès, who died in 2007, could no longer defend himself, the trial was not fair. But faced with the accumulation of facts, doubt is no longer permitted.
In six months, the Egaé firm of Caroline de Haas, commissioned by Emmaüs France, Emmaüs International and the Abbé-Pierre Foundation following the spontaneous account of a first victim, made three reports public. Egaé thus published the stories of 33 victims, which could be reconciled “with the known elements of the life of Abbé Pierre”, specifies the Egaé firm. In addition, 24 other testimonies were collected, unverifiable because they were anonymous or not detailed enough, bringing to 57 the number of victims reported as of January 15.
If the first facts mentioned essentially reported touching committed in the last part of his life, the scenario of the senile old man with a nimble hand does not hold up in light of all the acts committed. “As people talk, we realize that the facts, which start in the 1940s and end two years before his death, relate to his entire lifeexplains historian Axelle Brodiez-Dolino (1). And if the majority of acts remain touching, there is also a question of rape, some of which is committed against vulnerable people. » Several women suffered attacks while they were hosted by Abbé Pierre. Egaé also established the reality of at least 5 attacks on minors (4 girls and 1 boy).
“Every time he went somewhere, he tried something”
“What is striking is the almost systematic nature of the attacks,” summarizes Véronique Margron, president of the Conference of Religious Men and Women of France, who put the first victim in contact with Emmaüs. “It seems like every time he went somewhere, he tried something. »“Unfortunately, we only know the tip of the iceberg, given that Abbé Pierre has traveled extensively, all over the world”continues Axelle Brodiez-Dolino. If the Egaé listening device ends at the end of January, Emmaüs announced in The Parisian than another device, “probably managed by France Victimes”would take over.
Given the magnitude of the facts, a question arises: who knew? An independent commission of experts, charged by Emmaus with shedding light on the silence which allowed Abbé Pierre to act for so long, is due to begin its work in February. They will last two years.
In the meantime, among those who worked closely with Abbé Pierre, most plead ignorance. “At one time he was mobbed by a horde of people who wanted to touch the idolsays Pierre Lunel, author of five books on Abbé Pierre, including God's Insurgent. I followed him afterwards, for twenty years. He spoke to me about his loneliness and his need for tenderness. He was a priest who had relationships with women that he shouldn't have had. But honestly, no woman has ever spoken to me about assault. »
However, the archives show that, from the 1950s, the problematic behavior of Abbot Pierre was the subject of vigilance within the Church and Emmaus, as the revelations of Liberationof Monde or even Radio France. Thus, in April 1955, Abbé Pierre, in full glory after the 1954 appeal, went to the United States to promote Emmaus. There, two women accused him of sexual advances, as reported in his notebooks by the theologian Jacques Maritain, responsible for welcoming him. The abbot believes that it is a question of“minimal recklessness”. The matter goes back to the archbishops of Chicago and New York.
At the end of 1957, Abbé Pierre was hospitalized for many months, officially to be operated on for a diaphragmatic hernia. However, it is in a psychiatric clinic, in Prangins in Switzerland, that he will be interned, by decision of the Church with the approval of Emmaüs. He is also required to have an accompanist wherever he goes. But that is not always enough. In 1959, in Quebec, a new scandal broke out, leading the Quebec authorities to ask him to leave the province. In 1964, a letter, revealed by RTL, from Mgr Veuillot, coadjutor archbishop of Paris, speaks of“a seriously mentally ill person”evoking “young girls (…) marked for life ».
“There are people who knew and did nothing, which allowed the attacks to occur”
Does this mean that everyone at that time knew? “I think that in the 1950s, both the management of Emmaus and the cardinals knew the problem, continues Axelle Brodiez-Dolino. They tried to control it, without success. Afterwards, I don't know why, the transmission seems to have been lost. » Perhaps because from the 1970s, the abbot deployed his activity mainly abroad. At least until the 1980s, when the theme of the new poor brought it back to the forefront of the media scene.
-And there, again, it is a question of touching. “In 2011, an Emmaüs executive told me that Abbé Pierre had a tendency to touch women's breastsrelates Philippe Dupont, former director of the Abbé-Pierre center in Esteville (Seine-Maritime), closed last year. He added, “If you don’t believe me, ask so-and-so.” two employees of the association who had been his victims. The instruction not to let him approach women even circulates within Emmaus.
“It’s true: he shouldn’t have been allowed near women,” confirms a former Emmaüs executive, before qualifying : “There is still a nuance between ''he needs a chaperone with women'', and ''he attacked someone''. » In fact, in the recent period, continues Philippe Dupont, “I think that almost no one at Emmaüs was aware that there was much more than inappropriate gestures and non-consensual caresses.”
Can the fact of not having denounced this behavior still be considered reprehensible? Former employee of Emmaüs, Arnaud Gallais, founder of Mouv'Enfants, thinks so. “There are people who knew and did nothing, which allowed the attacks to occur. I would like justice to look into this responsibility. As an association, we made a report to the public prosecutor for failure to report crimes. A victim did the same. We believe that the seriality of the acts can be a reason to lift the limitation period. »
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The Abbé Pierre affair
July 2024. The Egaé firm submits its first report. Seven people, including one who was a minor at the time of the events, claim to be victims over a period from the end of the 1970s to 2005.
September. Egaé's second report reports 17 new testimonies, including one minor, for acts committed between the 1950s and 2000s in France or abroad. Some facts resemble rape.
January 2025. The Egaé cabinet submits its third report, which concerns nine new victims, including minors. The listening device, which ends on January 31, must be replaced by another.
From February. Charged by Emmaüs with understanding how such events could have taken place, the commission of independent experts has two years to submit its work.
