French bishops and the Vatican have admitted “malfunctions” in the handling of two major recent cases of clerical sexual abuse after three French bishops visited Rome to discuss bureaucracy and secrecy in the Curia.
Three bishops, led by conference head Archbishop Éric de Moulins-Beaufort, met Pope Francis and senior dicastery heads to analyse why the cases of Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard and Bishop Michel Santier took so long to be revealed.
“We were listened to very well, our interlocutors were … quite ready to recognise that everything had not been done perfectly,” Moulins-Beaufort told journalists.
The Vatican, he said, had "a rather strong habit of doing everything in confidentiality or secrecy when it is not always what is most appropriate." That included allowing Cardinal Ricard to attend the August consistory even though the Pope had been informed by then of his abuse case.
The delays angered many French Catholics, who asked why they were kept in the dark so long while prelates were allowed to continue in mission.
Creteil Bishop Michel Santier’s past abuse was kept secret for a year after he suddenly stepped down because of it at 73, two years before the normal retirement date, claiming health reasons.
Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard’s case was only made public nine months after senior Church officials in France found out about his past.
There were also problems in communication between dicasteries, which further delayed the slow reaction in France. The delegation met with the dicasteries for bishops and for the doctrine of the faith, which handles abuse cases, to discuss these issues.
The case of Cardinal Ricard, now under Vatican and French civil investigation, was not discussed with the Pope, Archbishop Moulins-Beaufort said. The cardinal can apparently still vote in the next conclave.
For their part, the bishops admitted delays in informing the Vatican of these two cases. Bishop Philippe Blanchet, Santier’s successor, blamed this on “ignorance” about how to handle abuse cases of senior clergy. The delegation included three lay French experts on abuse cases.
Moulins-Beaufort judged the meetings from 12 to 14 December positive and felt the French were now better understood. “Things change, even in Rome,” he concluded.
Only days before the delegation left for Rome, the Vatican ordered a preliminary inquiry into the sexual abuse cases of Bishop Santier after learning the original total of two self-proclaimed victims had now grown to at least 10.
Rouen Archbishop Dominique Lebrun, in whose Church province Bishop Santier now lives, said "between eight and 10" victims had come forward since the two initial accusations.
“This decision marks the opening of a new procedure, which is necessary and painful,” he said in a communique announcing the inquiry.
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