I am no fan of organized religion. In fact, my belief is that God did not invent religion.  Humans made religion to exert their will over others by pretending to be God. This practice still happens today. How many times do you see a television commercial that claims to share "the word of God " with you. This is the way religious sociopaths take advantage.  They convince adults to let them do whatever in the name of the lord with their children. It's not just sneaky creepy old priests. It's Jim bakers, Jimmy Swaggerts, Jim Jones and the hits just keep coming. Waco, Ruby Ridge all had child molesting by the Rev. This is why I am a HUMANIST.  I don't believe in heaven or hell. I believe we must make the best of this life because it's all we get.

Up to 3,200 pedophiles worked in French Catholic Church since 1950, independent commission says

 

Saint Louis de Novel church. Catholic mass. Ash wednesday celebration : the first day of Lent. Annecy. France. (Photo by: Philippe Lissac/Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

(CNN)Between 2,900 and 3,200 pedophile clergymen have worked in the French Catholic Church since the 1950s, the president of an independent commission on sexual abuse told CNN Sunday.

"We had to cross historical, sociological, medical and psychiatric perspectives. We had to call upon skills in the area of child protection, social work, questions of abuse and also bring to bear skills in the area of theology and law," said Jean-Marc Sauvé, ahead of the release of the commission's final report on Tuesday.

The report aims to establish the facts and provide an understanding of what happened in order to prevent "such tragedies" from taking place in the future. But the report does not aim to establish "personal responsibility," according to the commission's website.

The commission -- made up of 21 people -- was set up in 2018 by the French Catholic Church hierarchy and religious institutes after abuse scandals came to light.

 

 

It is financed by the French Catholic Bishops conference, but members are not paid and do not receive instructions from the Church. The archives of dioceses and religious institutions were accessible to the commission.

Sauvé said creating the commission was an important stepping stone towards addressing "this secret and hideous side of our society" and that an "enormous amount of work" had gone into building the report over the last 32 months.

"We worked a lot with the victims, and we did not delegate the task of listening to all the victims to research laboratories. Of course, the research laboratories did some of the hearings, but we conducted a large number of hearings ourselves," Sauvé said.

Some of the thousands of victims identified were directed towards organizations that provide legal, medical and psychological support.

"I went through a season of hell," Christian Dubreuil, a victim who was abused when he was 11 years old, testified before the commission.

"I hope you can take them out of this sort of isolation syndrome, of blindness" Dubreuil said of the French Catholic Church.

"They are still in denial, contempt, and minimize issues." 

This commission was set up before Pope Francis issued an edict in May 2019 that established new rules for reporting sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, mandating for the first time that all dioceses set up systems for reporting abuse and cover-ups. 

CNN has reached out to the French Catholic Church for comment.

'Waiting for this for years'

The report into sexual abuse in the French Catholic Church -- set to publish Tuesday -- will "change everything," Katherine Dalle, head of communications for the Bishops' Conference of France (CEF), told CNN Sunday.

"It is a very important moment for people who have been abused. It is an important moment for the church in France. Jean-Marc Sauvé has done remarkable work," she said.

Church authorities sent a message to be read at every Parish in the country during Sunday Mass. It says that the publication of Tuesday's report "will be a test of truth and a tough and serious moment."

"Pedophilia concerns all of us. I invite all of you to have an attitude of truthfulness and compassion among yourselves with regards to this report," it continues.

Olivier Savignac, who runs a victims group called Parler and Revivre, said the release of the report would be like "a cyclone, a tsunami, a hurricane."

"This report will show the collective responsibility of the church," he said. "We will finally have figures on the scale of the abuse, collected scientifically. We have been waiting for this for years."

The Catholic Church in France has taken a number of steps to tackle the scourge of sexual abuse in recent years. In 2019, the Diocese of Paris signed a protocol with the city prosecutor to allow suspected abuse to be investigated without victims making an official complaint to the authorities.

In March this year, the church voted in favor of 11 resolutions to tackle the problem, including: the establishment of a council "for the prevention and fight against pedophilia" and financial "contribution" for victims.

Savignac concedes that safeguards put in place have made it harder for abuse to take place, but told CNN that the "fight is not over."

"It is important for victims to see justice. Nine out of 10 people cannot get justice because the statute of limitations has passed or the perpetrator has died," he said.

"There has always been collusion between the church in France and the Vatican to protect perpetrators of abuse. The church has been too moderate in following the word of God and taking care of the smallest and the weakest."

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse final report

More than 4,000 survivors told us in private sessions that they were sexually abused as children in religious institutions. The abuse occurred in religious schools, orphanages and missions, churches, presbyteries and rectories, confessionals, and various other settings. In private sessions we heard about child sexual abuse occurring in 1,691 different religious institutions. The sexual abuse took many forms, including rape. It was often accompanied by physical or emotional abuse. Most victims were aged between 10 and 14 years when the abuse first started. We heard about perpetrators including priests, religious brothers and sisters, ministers, church elders, teachers in religious schools, workers in residential institutions, youth group leaders and others.

We conducted 30 case studies on religious institutions. They revealed that many religious leaders knew of allegations of child sexual abuse yet failed to take effective action. Some ignored allegations and did not respond at all. Some treated alleged perpetrators leniently and failed to address the obvious risks they posed to children. Some concealed abuse and shielded perpetrators from accountability. Institutional reputations and individual perpetrators were prioritised over the needs of victims and their families.

Religious leaders and institutions across Australia have acknowledged that children suffered sexual abuse while in their care. Many have also accepted that their responses to this abuse were inadequate. These failures are not confined to religious institutions. However, the failures of religious institutions are particularly troubling because these institutions have played, and continue to play, an integral and unique role in the lives of many children. They have also been key providers of education, health and social welfare services to children in Australia for many years. They have been among the most respected institutions in our society. The perpetrators of child sexual abuse in religious institutions were, in many cases, people that children and parents trusted the most and suspected the least.

• https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/religious-institutions

[Tr., Google Translate]

Plus de 4 000 survivants nous ont dit lors de séances privées qu'ils avaient été abusés sexuellement dans leur enfance dans des institutions religieuses. Les abus se sont produits dans des écoles religieuses, des orphelinats et des missions, des églises, des presbytères et des presbytères, des confessionnaux et divers autres lieux. Lors de séances privées, nous avons entendu parler d'abus sexuels sur des enfants dans 1 691 institutions religieuses différentes. Les abus sexuels ont pris de nombreuses formes, y compris le viol. Elle s'accompagnait souvent d'abus physiques ou émotionnels. La plupart des victimes avaient entre 10 et 14 ans lorsque les abus ont commencé. Nous avons entendu parler d'auteurs, notamment des prêtres, des frères et sœurs religieux, des ministres, des anciens d'église, des enseignants dans des écoles religieuses, des travailleurs dans des institutions résidentielles, des chefs de groupe de jeunes et d'autres.

Nous avons mené 30 études de cas sur les institutions religieuses. Ils ont révélé que de nombreux chefs religieux étaient au courant d'allégations d'abus sexuels sur des enfants, mais n'ont pas pris de mesures efficaces. Certains ont ignoré les allégations et n'ont pas répondu du tout. Certains ont traité les auteurs présumés avec indulgence et n'ont pas pris en compte les risques évidents qu'ils faisaient courir aux enfants. Certains dissimulaient les abus et protégeaient les auteurs de toute responsabilité. Les réputations institutionnelles et les auteurs individuels ont été privilégiés par rapport aux besoins des victimes et de leurs familles.

Les chefs religieux et les institutions de toute l'Australie ont reconnu que des enfants avaient subi des abus sexuels pendant qu'ils étaient sous leur garde. Beaucoup ont également accepté que leurs réponses à cet abus étaient inadéquates. Ces échecs ne se limitent pas aux institutions religieuses. Cependant, les échecs des institutions religieuses sont particulièrement troublants parce que ces institutions ont joué, et continuent de jouer, un rôle intégral et unique dans la vie de nombreux enfants. Ils ont également été les principaux fournisseurs de services d'éducation, de santé et de protection sociale pour les enfants en Australie pendant de nombreuses années. Ils comptent parmi les institutions les plus respectées de notre société. Les auteurs d'abus sexuels d'enfants dans des institutions religieuses étaient, dans de nombreux cas, les personnes en qui les enfants et les parents avaient le plus confiance et qu'ils soupçonnaient le moins.

Indeed I not love the church whit is old prejudice.