"French Catholic Church Sexual Abuse of 330,000 Children Over 70 Years"

Independent Investigation Committee Report Released... "80% of Victims Are Boys Aged 10-13"
Chairman of the Bishops' Conference "Wants to Ask for Forgiveness"... Pope "Deep Regret"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] A report has revealed that 330,000 children were sexually abused over the past 70 years by priests and church officials within the French Catholic Church.

The Catholic authorities are known to have "systematically concealed" the issue of child sexual abuse committed by some clergy members over several decades.

According to AP News and The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the French Catholic Sexual Abuse Independent Investigation Commission (CIASE) released a report containing 2,500 pages of investigation results on the 5th (local time), revealing these findings.

The report stated that 216,000 minors were sexually abused within the French Catholic Church. It also noted that when including abuses that occurred in institutions run by or affiliated with the church, the number rises to 330,000.

Between 1950 and 2020, at least 3,000 perpetrators of child sexual abuse were identified within the Catholic Church. Two-thirds of these were clergy members.

80% of the victims were boys aged 10 to 13. Many perpetrators faced neither legal punishment nor internal disciplinary action.

Jean-Marc Soubeyrand, the head of the investigation commission, said at a press conference that "about 60% of the men and women who were sexually abused face difficulties with emotions or sexual life," calling it "a very serious consequence."

Soubeyrand pointed out that "the church owes a debt to the victims" and emphasized that the church must take strong measures regarding this issue.

On the 5th, Jean-Marc Sove, the head of the investigation committee, is entering the press conference room in Paris, France, to announce the investigation results.
[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

He particularly criticized the attitude shown by the Catholic Church toward victims until the early 2000s as "serious, cruel, and indifferent."

He said, "If the veil of silence that covered the actions committed so far has finally been lifted, it is thanks to the courage of the victims."

The investigation commission included 45 recommendations in the report for preventing child abuse within Catholicism, such as revising canon law and policies to acknowledge and compensate victims.

In response to the release of these investigation results, Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, president of the French Bishops' Conference, described the findings as chilling and said, "I want to ask forgiveness from all those who were abused."

Matteo Bruni, the Vatican spokesperson, stated that Pope Francis expressed "deep regret" upon receiving the report.

Earlier, as controversies spread following revelations of child sexual abuse cases within the French Catholic Church, the French Bishops' Conference established the investigation commission in November 2018.

The commission, composed of about 20 experts from various fields including law and medicine, set up a direct hotline and received 6,500 reports over 17 months.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.