French Cardinal Ricard Admits Abusing 14-Year-Old Girl 35 Years Ago
- Confesses sexual molestation during his priesthood early days
- Announces withdrawal from religious duties
One of France’s highest-ranking prelates of the Catholic Church, Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard has announced his withdrawal from his religious duties after admitting that he had abused a 14-year-old girl about 35 years ago.
Cardinal Ricard issued a written statement on Monday, November 7, 2022, after a report issued last year revealed a “massive phenomenon” of sexual abusers of children operating for decades within the French Catholic Church.
According to Cardinal Ricard’s statement; “Thirty-five years ago, when I was a priest, I behaved in a reprehensible way with a young girl aged 14. My behaviour has inevitably caused serious and lasting consequences for this person”.
Ricard, 78, was the archbishop of Bordeaux, south-west France until he retired from that position in 2019 to serve in his home diocese of Dignes-les-Bains, in the south of the country. In the 1980s, he was a priest in the Archdiocese of Marseille.
The announcement was made at a news conference by the president of the French bishops’ conference, Archbishop Éric de Moulins-Beaufort.
Moulins-Beaufort said 11 bishops and former bishops, including Ricard, had been accused in relation to sexual abuse in diverse cases investigated by French justice or church authorities.
However, Ricard admitted approaching and talking to the victim and asking her for forgiveness, without specifying when. Also, he is asking for forgiveness from “all those I hurt” through his statement. He did not elaborate on that.
At a time when the French Catholic Church has just commenced paying financial compensation to victims of child sexual abuse, Ricard said he decided “not to stay silent any more about [his] situation” and that he was available for the country’s justice and for church authorities.
The broad study released last year by an independent commission estimated that 330,000 children were sexually abused over 70 years by priests or other church-related figures in France.
The tally included an estimated 216,000 people abused by priests and other clerics, and the rest by figures in associated institutions, such as scout leaders and camp counsellors.
The estimates were based on broader research by France’s National Institute of Health and Medical Research into the sexual abuse of children.
The report described a “systemic” cover-up by church officials and urged the French Catholic Church to respect the rule of law in France. – With The Guardian report
