Independent Commission in France is set to release a report on child abuse in the Catholic Church: SNAP eagerly awaits the findings.

(For Immediate Release October 4, 2021) 

Independent Commission in France is set to release a report on child abuse in the Catholic Church: SNAP eagerly awaits the findings.

What most likely will be a scathing look into child abuse in the Catholic Church looks set to rattle France on Tuesday as the chair of the commission’s research, Jean-Marc Suave’, said the commission’s research uncovered 2,900 and 3,200 pedophile church members since 1950. At a minimum, there may possibly be 10,000 victims said Suave’.

The Bishops’ Conference of France launched the commission in 2018, following repeated sexual abuse scandals within the country. The 2,500-page report is the result of interviews with witnesses and the research of church, court, and police archives. It will offer estimates of the number of offenders and victims and detail “institutional and cultural” mechanisms that allowed offenders to stay in place, Sauvé said.

Marc Artzrouni, SNAP Europe stated when this commission began its work, “We must not be naive and we need to ask the obvious question: will one more report, particularly with no emphasis on accountability, really make a difference? Or will it just collect dust in the Pope's library, with nothing changing and the Church continuing to obfuscate, cover-up, and evade responsibility for its crimes? “

In our view, knowledge of past crimes is only valuable if it is translated into actions that will help prevent future sexual abuse and cover-ups. Additionally, we call on secular authorities and prosecutors in France, to recognize that cover-ups are the rule and a crime. Law enforcement can play a crucial role in protecting the vulnerable and comforting the abused when they aggressively investigate these old crimes. We urge Catholics to wake up and hold church officials accountable. Believe victims when they come forward, and never tell them to "get over it." This is NOT a thing of the past.

We challenge church officials to do more than just say they are being open and transparent, and actually start doing it. Those who have not already done so should post the names of all church workers who have been found guilty, who have admitted, or who have been accused of the sexual abuse of children. In the interest of public safety and for the healing of victims, these men should also reach out to all the communities where known predators worked and beg survivors to come forward and report to law enforcement.

(SNAP will be available for commentary upon the release of the report) 

(SNAP, the Survivors Network, is the world's oldest and largest support group for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org) 

CONTACT: Marc Artzrouni, SNAP Europe, ([email protected], +33 - 6 95 73 65 92)  Mike McDonnell, SNAP Communications Manager,  (267-261-0578,  [email protected] ), Zach Hiner, SNAP Executive Director (517-974-9009, [email protected] ), Shaun Dougherty, SNAP Board President  (814-341-8386,  [email protected] )