High-ranking Catholic church official in France says he abused a 14-year-old girl
A French cardinal, an official and former bishop in the Catholic church, said he abused a 14-year-old girl in a statement..
French Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard admitted to the abusive behavior in a statement read during a bishop’s conference on Monday, Nov. 7, according to the text of the conference published by the Catholic Church in France and the Conference of French Bishops.
“Thirty-five years ago, when I was a parish priest, I behaved in a reprehensible way with a young girl aged 14. My behaviour has inevitably led to grave and lasting consequences for this person,” Ricard said in the statement, per Reuters.
No more details about the abuse were provided.
“This is a difficult process,” 78-year-old Ricard said, per Catholic News Service. “But what comes first is the suffering experienced by the victims and the recognition of the acts committed… I ask forgiveness to those whom I have hurt and who will live this news as a real test.”
Ricard also said in the statement that he will withdraw from his current functions and make himself available to church and federal authorities. No disciplinary measures or other consequences were immediately announced.
Ricard is one of 11 present or former bishops accused of and being investigated for abuse, Archbishop Moulins-Beaufort said at the conference. All bishops face the possibility of disciplinary measures from the Catholic church and criminal action from French authorities, he said.
Ricard was bishop in the southwestern region of Bordeaux, France, from 2001 to 2019, Reuters reported.
According to the Wall Street Journal, he is the “first Catholic churchman of his rank to admit to personally abusing a minor.”
In 2021, an independent report by the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church found that an estimated 330,000 children were victims of sexual assault by people connected to the Catholic church in France between 1950 and 2020. The findings rocked the Catholic church and French public.
The report said the “phenomenon of sexual violence” was “massive” and had “a systemic nature” in the French Catholic church. “Most of the victims were pre-adolescent boys from all social backgrounds,” a report summary said.
According to BBC, the report found “evidence of up to 3,200 abusers” and gave evidence to French prosecutors “in 22 cases where criminal action could still be launched.”
Google Translate was used to translate Ricard’s statement and the text of the bishop’s conference.
This story was originally published November 7, 2022 at 4:33 PM with the headline "High-ranking Catholic church official in France says he abused a 14-year-old girl."
