The Highly Symbolic Trial of Cardinal Barbarin

By Beatrice Bouniol and Celine Hoyeau
La Croix
January 7, 2019

https://international.la-croix.com/news/the-highly-symbolic-trial-of-cardinal-barbarin/9175?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=e-mail&utm_content=08-01-2019&utm_campaign=newsletter_crx_lci&PMID=0993ce75a05e850a9ee6d7668f102aad

Cardinal Philippe Barbarin. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Cardinal Philippe Barbarin and five others will appear before the criminal court of Lyon from Jan. 7.Over and above the case against Cardinal Barbarin, the victims of Father Bernard Preynat, accused of having abused at least 70 boy scouts from 1970-80, are hoping to advance the debate on the reporting of the sexual abuse of minors.Archbishop of Lyon since 20002, Cardinal Barbarin is the third bishop in France to answer to the charge of “failure to report the sexual abuse of minors” before a court. Found guilty of the same charges in 2001 and 2018, Cardinal Pierre Pican and Cardinal Andre Fort were given suspended prison sentences of three and eight months respectively.However, in this instance, the investigation of Cardinal Barbarin was dismissed by the Lyon criminal court in 2016 due to the absence of breach of law. Now it will be a matter of the archbishop confirming that, according to his belief, he was not negligent in promoting Preynat and allowing him...