Barbarin under growing pressure to resign

Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, Archbishop of Lyon, faces mounting pressure to resign amid accusations that he covered up for two paedophile priests. Prime Minister Manuel Valls called on him to “face up to his responsibilities”.

Barbarin (pictured), arriving in Lourdes for the bishops’ spring plenary meeting, said on Tuesday, “I have never, never, never covered up the slightest case of paedophilia” and added he assumed Mr Valls respected the presumption of innocence. The French bishops’ conference has expressed its support for him. Conference head Archbishop Georges Pontier said the issue was “painful” but the cardinal had always been “rigorous” in defending abuse victims.

Lyon prosecutors launched a preliminary inquiry on 4 March after a victims’ support group accused six persons of shielding a priest now under judicial inquiry on charges of abusing boy scouts.

The suit named Barbarin as well as Cardinal Gerhard Müller, head of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and his deputy Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferre.

Pressure mounted on Monday when three victims appealed to Pope Francis for a meeting. The Pope said last month that bishops who reassign paedophile priests should resign. Mr Valls told RMC radio on Tuesday that Cardinal Barbarin should “face up to his responsibilities … a man of the Church, cardinal and Primate of the Gauls … must understand the pain” of the victims.

The first case concerns Fr Bernard Preynat, who is accused of abuse by about 50 men in cases since the early 1980s. He is being investigated only for cases between 1986 and 1991. Barbarin, Lyon’s archbishop since 2002, says he first heard of accusations against him in 2007 or 2008.  

A second suit filed this week accused Barbarin of endangering a life and inciting to suicide by not removing a second abusive priest from his ministry. The plaintiff first filed suit against that priest in 2009 but this was rejected because the case was beyond the statute of limitations.

Barbarin responded in a statement to the second suit “with sorrow and consternation” and called it unjustified.