FRANCE
The Nation
AFP
LYON – One of France’s most powerful Catholic leaders, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, was questioned by police on Wednesday over allegations he covered up the sexual abuse of Scouts, a source close to the case said.
Barbarin, the archbishop of Lyon in central France since 2002, has been accused of failing to remove a priest from his diocese when he became aware the man had sexually abused young boys 25 years ago.
Barbarin was being questioned by the police’s family protection unit as part of a preliminary investigation, but has not been taken into custody, the source said.
State prosecutors will have to decide whether to pursue the case against Barbarin, which has shaken France’s Catholic Church.
The scandal has raised questions over how deep Church authorities should dig into abuse cases lurking in their past.
Barbarin’s interrogation comes four days after Pope Francis issued a decree that senior Catholic officials guilty of negligence in child abuse cases can now be dismissed from office.
It was not immediately clear whether the papal decree would affect the Barbarin case.
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