FRANCE
Times LIVE (South Africa)
AFP | 15 March, 2016
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls urged a cardinal accused of covering up the sexual abuse of Scouts by a priest, to “take responsibility” in a case which has shocked France.
“The only message I have, without … taking the place of the Church, of the judges — because an investigation is underway — is that he must take responsibility, speak and act,” Valls told BFM TV.
Asked whether he meant Cardinal Philippe Barbarin should resign, Valls said: “It is his responsibility, but he must also understand the pain.”
“I expect not only words, but acts,” the prime minister added.
Barbarin is one of several senior officials being sued for the alleged cover-up.
He is accused of being aware that priest Bernard Preynat had been sexually abusing young boys between 1986 and 1991.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.