The Vatican announces the launch of a preliminary investigation into French Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, who confessed to acts of sexual abuse dating from 35 years ago.
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“SFollowing the elements that have appeared in recent days and following the declaration of Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, in order to complete the examination of what happened, it was decided to open a investigation previa (Preliminary investigation) »said the director of the press service of the Holy See, Matteo Bruni. ” We are currently in the process of evaluating the most suitable person to lead it, with the necessary autonomy, impartiality and experience, also taking into account the fact that the French judicial authorities have opened a file on this case. », he added. French Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard has admitted engaging in “reprehensible conduct with a 14-year-old girl” 35 years ago.
On Tuesday, the Marseille prosecutor’s office announced that it had opened a preliminary investigation after the confessions of the ex-archbishop of Bordeaux, retired since 2019 in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (south-eastern France), which provoked a new earthquake in the Church.
A new sexual violence scandal for the Church
” Thirty-five years ago, when I was parish priest, I behaved in a reprehensible way with a 14-year-old girl. My behavior necessarily caused serious and lasting consequences for this person »wrote the cardinal, now 78 years old, without giving more details on the facts of which he incriminates himself while he was stationed in Marseilles.
These statements came the day after the surprise announcement by the French episcopate that 11 bishops or former bishops had had to deal with civil justice or Church justice for ” abuse » sex or their ” non-denunciation ».
READ ALSOSexual abuse in the Church: how Cardinal Ricard was forced to confess
Bishop Ricard, who has the right to vote in the event of a conclave, is a member of the powerful dicastery – equivalent to a ministry in the government of the Holy See – for the doctrine of the faith, responsible in particular for cases of sexual violence against minors.
A canonical process is generally only opened once the file has been closed by the judicial authorities in the country concerned. At the end of the civil lawsuit, the Church may request the documentation from the judicial authorities in order to include it in its own assessment.
A ” need for transparency »
For a year, and the publication of the Sauvé report which estimated at some 330,000 the number of victims of priests, deacons, religious or people linked to the Church of France since 1950, cases and revelations have multiplied. Thursday, a priest from the west of France, who had given an appointment at the beginning of November to a teenager, was charged with rape and imprisoned. He is also suspected of having administered drugs to her. And in mid-October, the press had revealed that Mgr Michel Santier, former bishop of Créteil who retired in 2021, had been sanctioned that same year by the Vatican authorities for ” spiritual abuse leading to voyeurism on two adult men ».
These latest announcements have provoked strong reactions from the Catholic faithful, some expressing their ” anger » and their ” suffering » while others demand more transparency on the measures taken by the Church against the clerics involved. ” There is very strong pressure on the need for transparency »to which it is ” impossible to resist »confirmed to AFP a specialist in canon law. ” There is no reason to hide the actions of a bishop, it is the civic rule that must prevail ». According to him, ” if a person is in total contradiction between what he does (in his ministry) and what he is accused of, he cannot remain in place ».
On Sunday, Pope Francis assured that the Church was working ” the best possible » to fight against child crime. Despite ” the temptation to compromise », ” the will of the Church is to clarify everything » did he declare.