Update on the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in France

The independent commission on sexual abuse set up by the French Catholic Church estimates that at least  3,000 people have  been victimized by abusive priests since the 1950s.   The real number could be closer to 10,000 according to other sources.

On March 2 the commission was releasing its initial findings following two years of interviews with hundreds of survivors.   One is left with the usual grim picture of a "mass crime" in the words of Jean-Marc Sauvé, the commission's president. Sauvé insisted on the role of restorative justice and  the need for the  church to sanction guilty priests but also to  take into account survivors' needs for recognition and reparation which go beyond financial compensation.  The complete report should be released in September and SNAP will bring it to you  in the second of its  two-part series on the subject. 

For more information, here is an article from France on the commission.