M.G./STA
17. 7. 2024, 20.57
Updated: 17/07/2024, 21:32
A popular French priest, Abbe Pierre, who dedicated his life to fighting for the poor and homeless, has been accused by several women of sexual assault. According to the report, the priest, who died in 2007, allegedly committed them between the end of the 1970s and 2005, three organizations that continue his work announced today.
Abbe Pierrewhose real name was Henri Groues, is considered an icon of the fight against exclusion in France, he was a co-founder of the Emmaus movement, and a member of the resistance movement during the Second World War. He died in 2007, aged 94.
After the first of his alleged victims accused him of sexual assault, a trio of charities associated with him – Emmaus International, Emmaus France and the Abbe Pierre Foundation – commissioned an independent report. It brought together the testimony of seven women who reported actions by Abbe Pierre that could be interpreted as sexual assault or harassment. Among them, one was a minor at the time of the alleged acts, the groups stated in a message summarized by the French news agency AFP.
“Our organizations celebrate the courage of the individuals who testified and allowed these facts to come to light. We believe them” they wrote. So far, no criminal charges have been filed. The bishops’ conference of the Catholic Church in France announced on the X network that they are saddened and ashamed that such actions could have been perpetrated by a priest.
Some 17 years after his death, Abbé Pierre’s face remains a strong presence in France on charity posters, as well as in subway stations, encouraging the French to pay attention to the poor. At the age of 18, Groues renounced his inheritance and joined the Capuchins. He was later active in the resistance movement, and after the war he spent several years in the parliamentary benches. In 1949, he founded the Emmaus community, which strives to help the marginalized and the poor, and has so far spread to dozens of countries.
Source: svet24.si
