Sexual abuse in the Church: visiting the Vatican, Castex wants to reconcile secrecy of confession and criminal law

What is the responsibility of clergymen who have knowledge of crimes during confession?

French Prime Minister Jean Castex was received Monday morning at the Vatican by Pope Francis to address the difficult issue, after the resounding revelations about sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in France.

"We obviously mentioned the situation of the Church in France, the Sauvé report", named after the chairman of the commission behind a report on sexual abuse in the Church, Jean Castex told reporters. at the end of his private audience with the Sovereign Pontiff.

“His speech is to say that it is courageous on the part of the Church of France to have done its work.

He trusts the Church of France to draw the conclusions.

He is delighted that there is no denial, ”he added.

A visit shaken up by the Ciase report

“The Church will not go back on the dogma of the secrecy of confession.

But we must at all costs find ways and means to reconcile this with criminal law, the rights of victims.

He is fully aware of it, ”continued the Prime Minister.

The visit of Jean Castex, long planned to celebrate the centenary of the restoration of diplomatic relations between France and the Holy See, was shaken by the news after the publication on October 5 of the conclusions of the Independent Commission on the sexual abuse in the Church (Ciase).

The Sauvé report draws up an "overwhelming" inventory, estimating at some 216,000 the number of minors victims of priests, deacons and religious since 1950 in France.

Pope Francis has expressed his “shame” and “pain” after the publication of this report.

The secret of confession, a heated subject

In France, the debate was also tied around the secrecy of the confession, that the president of the Conference of the bishops of France (CEF) Emmanuel de Moulins-Beaufort had judged "superior to the laws of the Republic", before back pedaling in evoking a "clumsy formulation".

Read alsoSexual abuse in the Church: the secret of confession stronger than the law, really?

The Vatican itself is walking on eggshells: on the one hand, a crime report form was made available to any clergyman in July 2020;

on the other hand, the Holy See has confirmed the primacy of the secrecy of confession, the confessor being simply encouraged to "try to convince the penitent" to alert people in a position to take legal action.