FRANCE
The Local
French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, accused of covering up sex abuse, is a hardline Catholic who has been outspoken against gay marriage and championed the cause of Christians persecuted in Iraq and Syria.
The 65-year-old archbishop of Lyon, France’s second largest city, has fiercely denied charges that he covered up paedophilia crimes by failing to remove a priest in his diocese known to have abused Boy Scouts decades before he took up his post in 2002.
Barbarin is also accused of failing to act against another Lyon priest when it emerged in 2009 he had abused a boy in the past.
“I have never, never, never covered up acts of paedophilia,” Barbarin said, adding that both cases had passed the legal statute of limitations when they were reported, adding an unfortunate “thank God”.
He later apologized for his choice of words.
It was not the first time Barbarin had to backpedal on his own comments.
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