FRANCE
GMA News
Lyon, France – Victims of a French priest who has admitted sexually abusing boys wrote to the Vatican on Monday to ask for an audience with Pope Francis about an alleged cover-up by the archbishop of Lyon.
Priest Bernard Preynat was charged in January after victims came forward with claims he had sexually abused Scouts between 1986 and 1991.
Prosecutors say he has admitted the charges.
The victims have filed complaints against several senior officials in the Lyon diocese in eastern France, including Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, accusing them of being aware of the abuse but failing to report the priest.
“We no longer have any confidence in our diocese which is judge and jury in this case,” Bertrand Virieux, a member of the victims’ association, told AFP.
“We therefore appeal to the pope and we would like him to take firm action,” he said.
Virieux said the group did not feel it was their job to call for Barbarin’s resignation. “It is up to the pope to judge,” he said.
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