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Jean-Pierre Ricard (2006 at the Vatican)
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PATRICK HERTZOG / AFP
Former leader of France's Catholic Bishops' Conference, Jean-Pierre Ricard, has admitted molesting a 14-year-old girl in the 1980s.
The 78-year-old accused himself in a letter to the plenary assembly of bishops that is currently in session today of having "behaved in a reprehensible way" towards the girl.
"My behavior is bound to have serious and lasting consequences for that person," Ricard wrote.
He spoke to her and asked her forgiveness.
He did not specify a time for this conversation.
Ricard was a priest in the Archdiocese of Marseille in the 1980s.
Until 2019 he was Archbishop of Bordeaux.
He headed the Bishops' Conference from 2001 to 2008.
Today's chairman of the conference, Archbishop Éric de Moulins-Beaufort, described the confession on Monday as a "shock".
At their general assembly, France's bishops will also discuss how to deal with abuse scandals, which have caused waves there as well as in Germany.
A good year after the publication of a report on abuse by the Catholic Church in France, eleven bishops or former bishops are being targeted by the state or church judiciary.
It is about "extremely different situations in terms of committed acts or allegations," said Moulins-Beaufort.
He did not give details.
According to the information, the eleven people also include the ex-bishop of Créteil, Michel Santier, who had confessed to the sexual abuse of two men.
The case had caused a stir in France because it was only recently revealed that the Vatican had tacitly sanctioned Santier for his crimes.
Publicly, his early resignation was initially justified with health problems.
Just over a year ago, a commission of inquiry estimated that around 330,000 minors had been sexually abused by priests, religious or employees of Catholic institutions in France since 1950.
aar/dpa/AFP