A figure of the Church of France, Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard created astonishment by admitting, via a message read Monday, November 7 by the president of the episcopate to the plenary assembly of Lourdes, to have had, when he was pastor in Marseille 35 years ago, “reprehensible behavior with a 14-year-old girl”. If the confessions of the French cardinal have sown consternation in the Church of France, they also have an impact in Rome where the former archbishop of Bordeaux goes regularly.
With our correspondent in the Vatican, Eric Senanque
The Vatican does not usually comment on sexual abuse scandals, but the Ricard revelations are causing trouble in Rome. The French cardinal is indeed a member of the dicastery for the doctrine of the faith, one of whose sections is precisely responsible for dealing with cases of pedocrime in the Church.
One of the questions that arises is whether Francis was aware of the French cardinal’s past actions. Questioned by the press on the plane which brought him back from his trip to bahrain two days ago, the pope did not allude to it. He made a point of recalling that the Church had the will to ” clarify everything on sex scandals.
” It is a great shock and a great disappointment in front of this umpteenth discovery of dissimulation and dishonesty on the part of pastors of the Church “, explains Father Hans Zollner, member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, who insists on the need for transparency.
Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard is the fourth cardinal to be implicated for pedophile acts. The presidency of the Conference of Bishops of France is expected in Rome in the coming weeks to meet in particular with Pope Francis. Unsurprisingly, the issue of pedocrime should be central.
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