The crisis at Bétharram exposes the fault lines of France’s response to clergy sexual abuse, leading to further politicization of the issue.
The Church’s weak response leaves the survivors of abuse at Bétharram at the mercy of French politics, revictimizing them on a daily basis.
Despite French secularism and prior efforts from the Catholic Bishops to acknowledge the depth of crisis in their country, François Bayrou’s response to the crisis at Bétharram is verbose and inefficient.
Whoever follows French news these days would notice how many stories are associated, one way or the other, to issues of sexual abuse and violence. Last year, France, Europe and the world were in shock after knowing the details of Giséle Pelicot’s quest for justice.
More recently, France experienced a similar collective shock when a trial revealed details of how Joël Le Scouarnec, a surgeon, abused at least 300 of his patients. If that was not…
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