FRANCE
France 24
French bishops pleaded for forgiveness Monday for the “guilty silence” of the Catholic Church following months of damaging revelations over the sexual abuse of children by priests.
The Church in France has been rocked by allegations that the Archbishop of Lyon, Philippe Barbarin, covered up the abuse of Scouts and failed to remove a priest when he became aware he had sexually abused the boys a quarter of a century ago.
The scandal was the worst to hit the Church in France since 2001, when a bishop was given a three-month suspended jail sentence for failing to inform authorities about a paedophile priest.
Barbarin, who has proclaimed his innocence, remains in his post, but the image of one of the French Catholic Church’s most media-friendly figures has been tarnished by the scandal.
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