FRANCE
Irish Independent
ABBE Pierre, France's most revered public figure, admitted in a book released yesterday that he had more than once broken his vow of chastity as a Roman Catholic priest.
The 93-year-old creator of the Abbe Pierre Foundation, which aids the poor across 50 countries, says he has had only "passing relations" with women, but that he never felt able to commit himself to anything more lasting.
Abbe Pierre, who has often topped French popularity polls, is a former Resistance member and MP who has devoted most of his life to defending human rights and the poor.