FRANCE
La Croix
January 7, 2019
By Béatrice Bouniol and Céline Hoyeau
Civil plaintiffs aim to prove that the archbishop and his entourage failed in their obligation to report a priest’s sexual abuse
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 André Fort were given suspended prison sentences of three and eight months respectively.
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