FRANCE
Business Insider
Agence France Presse
Lourdes (France) (AFP) – A French cardinal on Tuesday denied accusations he covered up the sexual abuse of children amid a growing scandal that has deeply embarrassed the Catholic Church in France.
Even the fiercely secular French government weighed in, with Prime Minister Manuel Valls urging Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, the archbishop of Lyon, to “take responsibility” in the case.
“I have never, never, never covered up acts of paedophilia,” Barbarin retorted during a news conference in Lourdes, a major Catholic pilgrimage site in southwestern France where the country’s bishops were meeting.
Barbarin has been caught up in the scandal over abuses that took place 25 years ago, long before he became archbishop of Lyon in 2002.
A priest in his diocese, Bernard Preynat, was charged in January after victims came forward with claims he had sexually abused Scouts between 1986 and 1991.
Prosecutors say Preynat has admitted the charges.
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