FRANCE
euronews
By Valérie Gauriat
A group of former scouts have broken the silence about the abuse they went through decades ago. They want the highest authorities of the French clergy to face up to their responsibilities.
Victims speak out
Bertrand and Pierre Emmanuel had nothing in common. That was until they discovered a few weeks ago that the same memories had marked their childhood behind the walls of the same church in the suburbs of Lyon in east-central France.
“The priest who officiated here abused a lot of children, dozens and dozens in fact,” says Bertrand Virieux, one of the alleged victims
Several of the alleged victims spoke to euronews journalist Valerie Gauriat about the abuse:
“What shocked me the most was when he tried to put his tongue in my mouth. He stroked my genitals, I couldn’t avoid it,” recalls Pierre-Emmanuel Germain-Thill. “I wanted to run away, and at the same time, I didn’t know what to do, I was afraid that if I left that room, nobody would believe me.”
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.