French Church leaders are on the defensive after two films about clerical sexual abuse and a book about homosexuals at the Vatican dramatised to Catholics the extent of the challenge to the institution’s authority.
Criticism and frustration are mounting among the faithful after Pope Francis rejected the resignation of Lyon Cardinal Philippe Barbarin following his suspended sentence from a civil court for covering up an abuse scandal that has rocked his archdiocese.
A film about the Lyon scandal, an Arte television broadcast about nuns abused by priests, and the book “In the Closet of the Vatican” by a French journalist have added to what the outgoing head of the bishops’ conference called the “profound distress” felt by clergy and laity alike. The documentary “Abused Sisters: The Other Scandal of the Church”, was shown by the Franco-German public TV channel ARTE on 5 March.
Pope Francis, for the first time, acknowledged the sexual abuse of nuns by priests and bishops on 5 February. His comments came in response to a reporter's question on his flight returning to Rome from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The reporter asked the Pope about a Vatican magazine article published the previous week detailing reports of sexual abuse by clerics resulting in nuns having abortions or giving birth to children fathered by priests. “It is true ... there have been priests and even bishops who have done this,” said Francis as quoted by Reuters. “I think it is still going on because something does not stop just because you have become aware of it.”
“We bishops are struggling to fulfil our demanding mission,” Archbishop Georges Pontier told the French bishops’ conference’s spring session in Lourdes. The Church was fully aware of its responsibility, he said, adding: “We will not turn back. The Lord asks us this as a duty of justice, a work of conversion, a missionary necessity.”
In Lyon, the vicar general now in charge of the archdiocese faced blunt criticism when he met with abuse victims for a public discussion after a showing of the film “By the Grace of God” about their ultimately successful struggle to put Cardinal Barbarin on trial.
Fr Yves Baumgarten presented his excuses for the scandal, but abuse victim François Devaux promptly interrupted him, saying: “This is downright insulting, your compassion and prayers will not suffice.” The audience applauded loudly.
When a questioner called Barbarin arrogant, Baumgarten stayed silent. While he agreed that victims should be compensated, the vicar general said the issue was up to the bishops to solve.
“My church completely missed this issue,” he admitted in the packed cinema. “When one sees the profound errors that led to this drama, it hurts ... Maybe now it's our turn to suffer what others have suffered.”
In a statement, Baumgarten said the archdiocese had informed the Vatican of the difficulties it faced after the Pope refused Barbarin’s resignation until the cardinal's appeal against his cover-up conviction is decided.
“We said the current situation cannot last too much longer,” he said.
In Lourdes, the bishops elected Archbishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, 57, as their new president. He was made metropolitan of Reims only last year after a decade as a Paris vicar general and auxiliary bishop.
He said the two films about clerical sexual abuse and the publication of the book about homosexuals in the Vatican had “upset the confidence of the most loyal Christians, and not without reason.”
Céline Béraud, a sociologist of religion, told the Paris daily La Croix: “The faithful feel the Church is facing enormous danger and don't hesitate to refer to historical moments such as the Protestant Reformation.”
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