Lower Thirds

0:02	Philippe Chemineau, Abuse Survivor

0:14	Report by Christine Mhundwa

2:15	Christine Mhundwa

((INFO: Pope Leo is in France for several days. It’s the first formal, papal visit to the nation in nearly 20 years and one of his stops is to meet with child survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests. DW’s Christine Mhundwa spoke to one of an estimated 300,000 survivors of such abuse in France across seven decades about what he hopes comes of the meeting.  
Catholic leaders hope Pope Leo’s trip will repair the Church's standing after a 2021 report on child abuse by priests sparked nationwide outrage. ))

Script: 

Philippe attended a La Salle Catholic boys' school in the affluent western suburb of Paris, Saint-Germain-en-Laye.   

Other former pupils have spoken of beatings, torture, and rape perpetrated by lay teachers and religious instructors at La Salle schools in France. 

Philippe has been in contact with some of them.

+++SOT (French) Philippe Chemineau, Abuse Survivor+++ 
“About two weeks ago, I reconnected with a former classmate, someone who followed the same path and was in the same class as me. He had also dealt with that same priest, who used to ask him to bring pornographic magazines along to confession.” 

il y a une quinzaine de jours, c'est que j'ai retrouvé un camarade qui a fait le même chemin, qui était dans la même classe que moi, qui a eu affaire au même prêtre et ce prêtre-là, lui demandait de venir avec des revues pornos pour la confession. 

A 2021 report found that an estimated 330-thousand children in France were abused by Catholic clergy and lay leaders over seven decades.  

This year, French lawmakers debated removing the confidentiality protecting confession — meaning, priests would be expected to report any sexual crimes against minors they become aware of during confession. 

+++PTC Christine Mhundwa, DW Correspondent+++ 

Catholic priests are obliged to keep what is said in confession strictly secret. A question that's been recently debated here in France is whether the sanctity of confession should come before the safety of a child. 

The proposal brought by President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist group was dropped. It angered Catholic leaders, who said it would undermine religious freedom. Philippe disagrees. 

+++SOT (French) Philippe Chemineau, Abuse Survivor+++ 

“From my perspective, the rules regarding confession absolutely must change. Indeed, because confession—whether in education or within the Catholic religion—is treated as something too sacrosanct. It opens the door to absolutely every kind of abuse. It allows religious men—priests, brothers, lay members, but especially priests and brothers who have committed rape—to be absolved by one of their fellow clergy.” 

De mon point de vue, il faut absolument changer les règles liées à la confession. Effectivement, parce que la confession dans l'éducation ou dans la religion catholique est un moment trop sacralisé ou qui est la porte ouverte à absolument tous les abus. Ça permet justement aux hommes de religion, donc les prêtres, les frères, les laïcs, mais surtout les prêtres et les frères qui ont violé, d'être pardonnés par l'un de leurs confrères. 

+++SOT (French) Philippe Chemineau, Abuse Survivor+++ 
“To me, confession does not stand above the laws of the Republic. When a person receives an account from another person regarding a crime or violence committed by that individual, they have an obligation to report it. And for me, the laws of the Republic take precedence over religious rules.” 

Pour moi, la confession n'est pas au-dessus des lois de la République, donc les lois de la République, c'est lorsqu'une personne reçoit d'une autre personne un témoignage d'un crime ou de violence exercée par cette personne-là. Elle a une obligation de le signaler. Et pour moi, les lois de la République l'emportent sur les règles de la religion. 

As part of his trip to France, Pope Leo is going to meet a small group of survivors of sexual abuse. As the church is still dealing with the shock of the scale of the abuse revealed in France, Catholic leaders are hoping Pope Leo's visit will help to heal the hurt. 

END