A reputable priest of the Catholic order of Dominicans is under investigation for sexual assault and rape of a minor under the age of 15, AFP learned from the Rodez prosecutor on Monday May 9.
Read alsoSexual abuse in the Church: doubt about the numbers
“I was seized after a report from the Dominican Brothers at the end of November 2021“, declared the public prosecutor Olivier Naboulet. The priest implicated by the testimony of the mother of a victim is André Gouzes, promoted to the rank of Knight of the Legion of Honor in 2006, we learned from concordant sources, confirming information from the daily La Croix .
This 78-year-old priest was known for his musical creations. “The facts took place in the mid-2000s, on a young boy under the age of 15“, specifies the prosecutor. The order of Preachers of the province of Toulouse, a Dominican congregation, had published a press release on May 5, calling for the transmission of testimonies to them about similar facts.
Read alsoSexual abuse: the Vatican defends Benedict
On May 30 and 31, representatives of the Recognition and Reparations Commission will travel to Toulouse to collect these testimonies. “The commission will receive anyone who comes to it“, told AFP Brother Pavel Syssoev, prior of the convent of Marseille.
SEE ALSO – Already convicted of murder, a suspect indicted for the rape of a 22-year-old woman in Nancy