Meeting in Lourdes in plenary assembly, the bishops adopted, Monday, November 8, a series of measures aimed at combating sexual violence in the Catholic Church, following the publication of the report of the independent commission on sexual abuse ( Ciase), October 5. According to Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, the president of the French Bishops’ Conference (CEF), these decisions “Mark a decisive step” on behalf of the episcopate and constitute “A vast program to renew[s] governance practices at the level of the dioceses and at the level of the Church in France ”.
The first decision is the establishment of an independent national body for recognition and reparation (Inirr), whose president is the lawyer Marie Derain de Vaucresson, former defender of children (2011-2014). It will itself choose the members of its commission, which will determine the operating rules of this institution.
All victims of sexual violence in a diocese can be referred to it, whether or not the facts are prescribed. If necessary, Inirr can serve as a mediator between these people and the dioceses or other ecclesial institutions, for example to obtain information on the alleged aggressor, the existence or not of other victims… This process could lead to reparation, which can take the form of a “Compensation” – the term, long rejected by the Church, was used by Mr.gr of Moulins-Beaufort. This compensation will be individualized.
A loan “if necessary”
This body will have the “Necessary financial means” in the exercise of its mission. They will be provided by the endowment fund already voted in March, and which began to operate under the name of the Relief Fund and the fight against child abuse (Selam). He has already received some 500,000 euros, from bishops but also from the faithful, indicates Ambroise Laurent, in charge of economic and financial matters of the episcopate.
From now on, there is no longer any question of resorting to donations from the laity. “As it takes sums much greater than what we had imagined”, specified the president of the CEF, it will be supplemented by movable and immovable property of the CEF or the dioceses, as well as by “Security reserves” unequally available to the dioceses. This cash, says Ambroise Laurent, can represent around 500 million euros, the equivalent of a year to a year and a half of budget. In addition, the bishops will contract a loan ” if necessary “.
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