PARIS (AP) — France’s Catholic Church announced on Monday that it would financially compensate sex abuse victims by selling property assets or taking out a loan if needed.
French bishops said in a written statement they will set up an “independent, national body” tasked with addressing compensation issues. They committed to allocating money to a specific fund “in order to compensate victims,” notably by selling property or through a potential loan.
They also called on Pope Francis to send “a team of visitors” to assess the church’s response regarding child protection.
Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, President of the Bishops’ Conference, hailed a “decisive step” in a speech.
He stressed that the Church has recognized its “institutional responsibility” and decided to go “on a path of recognition and reparation that paves the way for victims to get the possibility of a mediation and a compensation.”ADVERTISEMENT
The Bishops Conference held its annual meeting a month after a report revealed large-scale child sex abuse within the French Catholic Church.
The study released by an independent commission estimated that some 330,000 children were sexually abused over 70 years by priests or other church-related figures.
“We felt disgust and horror inside us when we realized how much suffering so many people had lived and were still living,” Moulins-Beaufort said.
The bishops acknowledged the church’s responsibility that implies financial compensation because the commission “strongly suggested that path” but also because “worshippers full of shame were expecting it from us,” he said.
Suggested Reading by Zia H Shah MD for the best understanding of personal religion in the 21st century
Americans Trust Clergy Less Than Ever, Gallup Poll Finds
Pope Francis: Satan Is Stalking The Catholic Church
A Message of Compassion and Love from the Holy Bible
Deciding to Leave: The Last Straw that Broke a Catholic’s Back!
Why it’s so hard to hold priests accountable for sex abuse
If the Atheists and the Christians Debate, Islam Wins!
Abou Ben Adhem, A Compassionate Man
Americans are depressed and suicidal because something is wrong with our culture
Videos: Let Joel Osteen Breathe Hope, Optimism and Success in Your Life
What Can a Quarter of Unaffiliated US Population Find in Islam?
Father testifies in Australian court cardinal abused son
How Islam has Influenced Christian understanding of God
World Leading Christian Apologist, William Lane Craig Always Presents God of Islam and Judaism
24 Video lectures: The Great Courses: How Jesus Became God?
Video: The most famous Christian apologist, William Lane Craig, accepts there is no Trinity in the Old Testament
Book Review: The Dark Box: A Secret History of Confession
Two Hundred Verses about Compassionate Living in the Quran
A New Commentary of the Holy Quran Emphasizing Compassion, Justice and Human Rights Launched
Kripkean Dogmatism: The Best Metaphor to Understand Religious and Political Debates
Categories: Catholic Church, Catholicism, Catholics, Human Rights, Organized religion
At least they compensate the victims. I wonder if Indonesian and other Muslim clerics that support female genital mutilation and marital rape would compensate the victims.