French PM Meets Pope As Abuse Scandal Rages
Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published October 18, 2021 | 03:09 PM
French Prime Minister Jean Castex met Pope Francis at the Vatican Monday as the French Catholic Church battles a storm over clerical child sex abuse and the sanctity of confession
Vatican City, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Oct, 2021 ) :French Prime Minister Jean Castex met Pope Francis at the Vatican Monday as the French Catholic Church battles a storm over clerical child sex abuse and the sanctity of confession.
The long-planned trip to Rome, which includes talks with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, follows the publication of a devastating report estimating that French Catholic clergy had abused 216,000 children since 1950.
Pope Francis, who has made battling the global scourge of clerical abuse a priority of his papacy, expressed "my shame, our shame" at the findings, echoing a similar sentiment from French church leaders.
But a row broke out when Archbishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, the head of the Bishops' Conference of France, said priests were not obliged to report sexual abuse if they heard about it during the Catholic ritual of confession, used to admit to sins.
His words were in line with Vatican guidelines updated last year, which call on clerics to report claims of abuse. They say confession is subject to "the strictest bond of the sacramental seal", while saying the confessor should try and convince the penitent to tell someone else.
In France, victims' advocates pointed out that French law recognizes professional confidentiality for priests, but it does not apply in potentially criminal cases involving violence or sexual assault against minors.
Moulins-Beaufort was called to a meeting with Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, and later insisted that protecting children was "an absolute priority".
Darmanin accompanied Castex and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian to the Vatican, in the visit marking 100 years since the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between France and the Holy See.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Tennis: ATP Barcelona Open results - 1st update
Swiatek's perfect 10 in Stuttgart as Vondrousova stuns Sabalenka
Arandu's roads closed due to flooding
Oil tanker catches fire in Islamabad’s Blue Area
Pakistan committed to ensure safety of foreign nationals: FO
Tennis: WTA Stuttgart results - 1st update
Four passengers injured as train hit an empty vehicle
Over- speeding bus crushed to death two bike riders
Turkey's Freedom Flotilla ready to set sail for Gaza
French teen dies from heart failure after knife attack near school
Iranians appear unfazed by Isfahan blasts
UAF celebrates Int'l Chinese Language Day
More Stories From World
-
Calls for calm after reported Israeli strike on Iran
22 minutes ago -
IMF calls on EU to deepen single market integration to boost growth
22 minutes ago -
Second Ecuadoran mayor killed ahead of anti-crime referendum: police
22 minutes ago -
Oil, gas drilling blocked in Alaska wilds as Biden seeks green cred
1 hour ago -
Man sets self on fire outside Trump trial
1 hour ago -
Turkey's Freedom Flotilla ready to set sail for Gaza
3 hours ago
-
French teen dies from heart failure after knife attack near school
3 hours ago -
Iranians appear unfazed by Isfahan blasts
3 hours ago -
Ecuador mayor killed ahead of anti-crime referendum: police
3 hours ago -
Croatia top court bars president from becoming next PM
3 hours ago -
Lacking storm drains, Dubai sees persistent flooding
4 hours ago -
West Bank villagers vigilant but vulnerable after settler attacks
4 hours ago