Nine months after the report of the Sauvé commission on sexual violence in the Church in France, the first six victims have been compensated by the Solidarity Fund and the fight against sexual assault on minors (Selam), according to information from the weekly Le Sunday newspaper.
After the publication of this report, the Church created two commissions: the Reparation and Recognition Commission (CRR) which deals with files concerning religious congregations; and INIRR, responsible for dealing with diocesan affairs. It was the latter who investigated the first cases.
The first compensations have taken place, but there are still many more to come. After these first six files, 730 files are on the pile of the INIRR. To be compensated, the path is long. The victims file a specific request which can go as far as financial compensation: this was the case for half of the files at the beginning of June.
We do not yet know the sums received by the victims. In any case, they will not exceed 60,000 euros. This is the maximum amount of compensation set by the commission.
The INIRR evaluates it according to three criteria: the seriousness of the facts of sexual assault, the failures of the Church and the consequences on the health of the victim.
After INIRR’s decision, the Selam fund took over. It is endowed with 20 million euros. All come from donations from the Conference of Bishops of France, dioceses or individuals.
In addition to the victims, it also finances awareness-raising actions against sexual abuse. It is also thanks to this money that a university degree on the subject will open at the start of the school year at the Catholic Institute of Paris.
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