NEW YORK (NY)
Crux
June 5, 2019
By Christopher White
France’s first ever independent commission set up by the Catholic Church to examine claims of clergy sex abuse has now launched its appeal for witnesses to offer testimony.
The Catholic French bishops’ Independent Commission of Inquiry into Sexual Abuse within the Church (CAISE), which was formally established in November 2018, opened itself up for testimonials this week and will seek to chronicle clergy abuse dating back to the 1950s.
At the time of the announcement, Archbishop Georges Pontier of Marseille, who serves as president of the Conference of Bishops of France said that their November meeting “between the victims and the bishops has confirmed for us all, victims and bishops, the need to work together better in this fight.”
“The bishops wish to work with the victims to see how to make sure that our history doesn’t forget those acts that have left too many people to die,” he added.
Former deputy president of the French Council of State, Jean-Marc Sauvé, has been named the chairman of the commission, which includes 22 lawyers, theologians, and medical professionals, 12 of whom are men and 10 women. The body has pledged to deliver its full report by the end of 2020.
According to the official agreement signed between the French bishops and the head of the commission, the bishops’ conference will pay for all costs related to the review of cases, but the commission has been guaranteed full independence to review cases related to both the abuse of minors and vulnerable adults.
A letter dated Feb. 19, outlining the mandate of the commission, states that the first task will be to identify the number of both victims and perpetrators throughout the country.
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