A plaque bearing a long declaration of repentance towards victims of pedophilia, formulated on Friday October 23 by the Bishop of Luçon (Vendée), will be placed in the cathedral of Luçon on November 22 during a religious ceremony, announced the prelate at La Roche-sur-Yon.
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"
It is with shame in my heart that I recognize the weight of suffering etched forever in the body and heart of people who were victims of sexual violence in their childhood within our Church
", declared Bishop François Jacolin in this long text, which he read on Friday at a press conference on Friday, after giving the floor to several victims.
Over the past twenty years, testimonies from victims, evoking large-scale acts of pedophilia at the minor seminary of Chavagnes-en-Pailler (Vendée), have arrived in the diocese, particularly after the publication in 2018 of Jean-Pierre Sautreau's book "
A cross on childhood
”.
During this act of repentance, the bishop counted 65 victims of sexual violence from the 1940s to today, including 12 women.
Thirty-two victims were attacked at the minor seminary of Chavagnes or during preparatory days for the start of the school year, between 1956 and 1975.
43 known assailants in the diocese
The diocese reports 43 known aggressors in the diocese, including 36 priests, 5 brothers from religious congregations and 2 lay people (a teacher and a monitor).
“
These things happened very often when children came to confession, which made the sexual abuse even more abominable
,” the bishop said.
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"
What happened in Vendée is very specific and cannot be extrapolated to other dioceses in France,
" said Bishop Jacolin.
“
Our situation can be compared to that of Ireland, with a very strong proximity between priests and families who had blind confidence in the Church.
This could have favored the hold of the aggressors on the children
”, he added.
At the national level, the conference of bishops of France has set up since November 2019 four working groups on pedophilia in the Church.
Experts and victims are associated with it.
In addition, the CIASE (independent commission on sexual abuse in the Church) is continuing its work to shed light on these facts throughout France.
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