Religion

muriel_volestrangler

(102,477 posts) Thu Mar 7, 2019, 06:23 AM Mar 2019

French cardinal found guilty of covering up sexual abuse

Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, the archbishop of Lyon, was given a six-month suspended prison sentence on Thursday for failing to report to the authorities accusations made against the priest.
...
The scandal in Lyon emerged in 2015 when a former Scout went public with allegations that a local priest, Bernard Preynat, had abused him as a child 25 years earlier.

Devaux also filed a complaint against Barbarin, the priest’s superior, alleging he had known about the abuse and covered it up.
...
The head of the Vatican’s powerful Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Spanish archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, was also accused of complicity in the alleged cover-up in Lyon. But the Vatican cited his immunity from prosecution to avoid a trial.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/07/philippe-barbarin-french-cardinal-found-guilty-of-failing-to-act-on-sexual-abuse-allegations

So, the Vatican under Francis is still trying to avoid accountability and convictions.

4 replies

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Highlight:

French cardinal found guilty of covering up sexual abuse (Original Post) muriel_volestrangler Mar 2019 OP

"immunity from prosecution..." MineralMan Mar 2019 #1

The head inquisitor is above the law Lordquinton Mar 2019 #2

Even some DUers are "unsure" whether or not the RCC should be allowed to cover up child rape Major Nikon Mar 2019 #3

Barbarin resigns after receiving suspended prison sentence over abuse allegation neglect ... but Eugene Mar 2019 #4

MineralMan

(147,576 posts)

1. "immunity from prosecution..."

Reply to muriel_volestrangler (Original post)

Thu Mar 7, 2019, 09:22 AM

Mar 2019

That sort of says it all, I think. If church officials can be declared to be "immune from prosecution," then any crime can be committed with impunity...

...and probably has been committed with impunity and some time or another.

Lordquinton

(7,886 posts)

2. The head inquisitor is above the law

Reply to muriel_volestrangler (Original post)

Thu Mar 7, 2019, 03:56 PM

Mar 2019

This has never gone wrong in the past!

Major Nikon

(36,900 posts)

3. Even some DUers are "unsure" whether or not the RCC should be allowed to cover up child rape

Reply to muriel_volestrangler (Original post)

Fri Mar 8, 2019, 02:07 PM

Mar 2019

So it's not as if Frank's supporters are all that hard to find in that endeavor.

Eugene

(62,648 posts)

4. Barbarin resigns after receiving suspended prison sentence over abuse allegation neglect ... but

Reply to muriel_volestrangler (Original post)

Fri Mar 8, 2019, 08:27 PM

Mar 2019

Source: Euronews

Barbarin resigns after receiving suspended prison sentence over abuse allegation neglect

By Luke Hurst & Alasdair Sandford • last updated: 07/03/2019 - 20:17

Philippe Barbarin, the Archbishop of Lyon, has resigned after being handed a six-month suspended prison sentence for failing to act on sexual abuse allegations in the Catholic church.

A French court convicted him on Thursday of failing to report allegations of sexual abuse of boy scouts that took place in his diocese in the 1980s and early 1990s, by a priest who is due to go on trial later this year.

The cardinal – Archbishop of Lyon since 2002 – is the highest profile cleric to have been caught up in the sexual abuse scandal in the French Catholic church so far.

He was once tipped as a possible future pope.

-snip-

Lawyers for Barbarin have said they intend to appeal against the conviction. “The court’s reasons do not convince me. We will therefore contest this decision,” said Jean-Félix Luciani, adding that the court had been under pressure as a result of documentaries and a film about the case.

-snip-

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