The French Catholic Church has expressed "shame" and apologized after a report revealed that 330,000 children were victims of sexual abuse by clergy and secular members of church institutions over the past 70 years.
The publication of the historic report on Thursday has shocked people about the horrific information of a "mass phenomenon" of child sexual abusers operating for decades within the church and related institutions.
The independent investigation, which lasted two and a half years, found that a staggering number of children were sexually abused by priests and clergy, while crimes were "systematically" covered up by a deliberate "veil of silence" in the church.
The chairman of the investigative committee, Jean-Marc Sauvé, told a news conference: "Until the early 2000s the Catholic Church showed a deep and even cruel indifference to the victims."
The report found that some 216,000 children were victims of sexual violence by French Catholic priests, deacons, and other clergy from 1950 to 2020. When secular Church members, such as teachers and catechism supervisors, were involved, the figure rose. at least 330,000 children sexually abused over 70 years.
The report says the "vast majority" of the victims were boys, who came from a wide variety of social backgrounds and who were attacked at a young age before reaching adolescence. Some sex offenders within the church were “predators” on a large scale, targeting an extremely high number of children for long periods, some of whom have abused more than 150 victims.
Sauvé said the death toll was appalling and "there is no way it can go unanswered." He asked the church to pay the damages even though most of the cases were beyond the statute set aside for prosecution. He recommended that the Catholic Church review its internal legal system, reform governance, rethink training, and look at the dynamics that allowed abuse to occur.
Raporti bëri një "vlerësim minimal" të 2,900 dhe 3,200 abuzuesve seksualë të fëmijëve që vepronin në kishën katolike franceze që nga viti 1950, megjithatë ai tha se vetëm një pjesë e vogël e rasteve kishin nxitur veprime disiplinore sipas ligjit kanonik, e jo më ndjekje penale.
François Devaux, i cili krijoi shoqatën e viktimave La Parole Libérée, u tha përfaqësuesve të kishës në prezantimin publik të raportit: "Ju duhet të paguani për të gjitha këto krime."
Sauvé dhe ekipi i tij thanë se viktimat ishin përballur me vuajtje, turp, izolim dhe shpesh faj. Në raport ai shkroi: “Nëse perdja e heshtjes që mbulon aktet është grisur më në fund...ne u detyrohemi guximit të këtyre viktimave. Pa dëshminë e tyre, shoqëria jonë do të ishte ende e painformuar ose do të mohonte çfarë ka ndodhur.”
The report found that the high rate of sexual abuse in the Catholic church was higher than in other institutions such as state schools, holiday camps and sports organizations.
"The Catholic Church is, after the circle of family and friends, the environment that has the highest prevalence of sexual violence," the report states.
Sources: Guardian, The Washington Post
