One month after the submission of the report on child crime in the Catholic Church, the Conference of Bishops of France (CEF) will hold its plenary assembly in Lourdes from November 2 to 8, in the absence of Jean-Marc Sauvé but hoping for the presence of victims, she said Tuesday, October 19.
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The 120 or so bishops gathered for 7 days in the Marian city will devote around 40% of their work to the subject of "
the fight against violence and sexual assault on minors
", according to the program given to the press on Tuesday.
Initially scheduled for 6 days, the meeting was extended with an opening day that focuses entirely on this subject.
The presence of victims
Jean-Marc Sauvé, president of the Commission on pedocriminality, was not invited, said the CEF.
Contacted by AFP, the person explained that his "
function stops at the rendering of the report
" and that there "
is no obligation (to invite him) and no expectation
" on his part.
However, he will go to the plenary assembly of the Corref (religious congregations and institutes) in mid-November.
“
Several victims will be invited to participate and work with the bishops,
” assured the episcopate.
Read alsoSexual abuse in the Church: after the shock of the Sauvé report, the faithful "think above all of the victims"
The bishops aim to "
give time to the reception, to work, to reading
" of the report published on October 5 and which revealed the extent of child crime in the Catholic Church since 1950, underlined Hugues de Woillemont , spokesperson, with an estimate of 330,000 victims of priests, religious or laity with a link with Catholic institutions.
Saturday morning, a
symbolic “
memorial gesture
” will be made to the victims.
Olivier Savignac, of the Parler et revivre collective, not invited at this stage, told AFP “
not to plan to go
”.
"
The bishops have the report, they have all the cards in hand
".
"
I do not want the victims to be used as surety,
" he warned, now calling for "
clear answers, with a deadline
".
François Devaux, co-founder of the association La parole libérée, is not invited "
to this day
", said the CEF.
Questions of "liability" and compensation "among the priorities"
The questions of "
responsibility
" but also of the financial device allowing to pay, in the future, a contribution to the victims, will appear "
among the priorities
" of this meeting, specified Karine Dalle, communication manager of the CEF.
To read also “Before being priests, they are men”: how the Church renewed the formation of its religious
Hugues de Woillemont and Karine Dalle, however, said they were unable, at this stage, to detail the subjects that will be submitted to the bishops' vote on the last day of the proceedings, November 8. Among its 45 recommendations, the Sauvé commission proposed to the institution to recognize the civil and social responsibility of the Church "
independently of any personal fault of its leaders
".
It also recommended individualizing the calculation of the compensation due to each victim according to the "
damage suffered
".
To finance the compensation fund, it rejects the track of an appeal for donations from the faithful, recommending to finance the compensation paid to victims "
from the heritage of the aggressors and the Church of France
".
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: Sexual abuse in the Church, "the face of evil"
This last recommendation contradicts the intentions of the CEF. In March, the episcopate announced the payment to victims, from 2022, of a “
financial contribution
”, but which, according to it, is not compensation. She also announced an “
endowment fund
” which could be matched by “
donations from bishops, priests, the faithful and anyone who wishes to participate
”.
The statutes of this fund were "
deposited
" last summer and the bishops began to contribute, it was indicated.
The CEF has also announced the establishment of a national victim assistance number, operated by the France Victimes association, which will allow victims of sexual assault to continue to find listeners.
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