After 17 new accusations of sexual assault against Abbé Pierre were revealed last week, letters from the prelate reinforce the words of the alleged victims. An article published Monday, September 9 by the Investigation Unit of Radio France shows that the founder of the Emmaüs Movement tried to force the silence of those who denounced his actions towards women. The archives also reveal how he was able to count on the Church to get him out of trouble.
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The mails peeled by the investigation unit of Radio France date back almost 70 years. Already at the end of 1955, Abbé Pierre sent a letter to one of the American organizers of a stay he had made in the United States a few months earlier. In this letter, the man of the Church denies sexual assault accusations who target him, and even goes so far as to threaten Suther Marshall, the American student who dares to denounce his actions. You promised not to interfere in this multitude of things anymore… Know that not a single relapse will go unanswered, and, if necessary, brutal and surgical. ” he had written to her.
To understand the reasons for this letter, we must go back a few months. In May 1955, Abbé Pierre had spent a month in the United States. He was received by President Eisenhower at the White House. Several women from different cities had then denounced inappropriate acts by the abbé towards them, in New York, Chicago and Washington. To avoid a sexual scandal, the prelate’s stay had therefore been cut short.
But a few months after these incidents, the student sent a letter to a friend of Abbé Pierre in which he castigated the latter’s inappropriate behavior. I saw so many things during the trip, ways of acting of the Father as an individualthe student had denounced. I think, for example, of Chicago, when it was explicitly decided that the condition for continuing the journey was that the father should never be alone.. » A letter which had the effect of annoying the accused, who did not hesitate to threaten the young American with reprisals.
A scenario that was repeated during a trip to Quebec in 1959. This time with police intervention, according to a letter from Abbé Pierre himself. During a stay in an abbey, Abbé Pierre had written to Reverend Roy, a Quebec cardinal whom he thought was aware of his actions, and to whom he swore that ” “Everything in these accusations is false”. Before adopting a threatening tone, similar to that used in his American letters.
According to information from the Radio France investigation unit, the man had even been forced to leave Canada in a hurry. André Paul, a renowned French theologian, now aged 94, testifies: ” The case was followed by the police and the courts. The Cardinal of Montreal intervened so that Abbé Pierre would not be prosecuted, on condition that he never set foot in the area again. The religious institution therefore covered up its actions, and among the oldest executives of Emmaüs, some were also aware, according to the testimonies collected.
New wave of accusations
Information revealed in the context of a new wave of accusations of sexual violence targeting the priest who died in 2007. Published Friday, September 6, a Report states 17 new accusations of sexual violence against Abbé Pierre, some of which concern for the first time facts which could be similar to rape or concerning minors.
The Abbé Pierre Foundation has indicated that it has initiated steps to change its name and Emmaüs has announced the permanent closure of a memorial centre dedicated to Abbé Pierre in Esteville (Seine-Maritime). For its part, Emmaus International ” thinks ” to a form of compensation for the victims of Abbé Pierre, indicated its general director, Adrien Chaboche, on Monday.
Also readSexual Assault in the Church: Writing to Bear Witness and Make Reparation