Report on Catholic Church in France finds extensive child abuse

Today (5 October) Jean-Marc Sauvé, president of the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (CIASE), shared his findings, estimating 216,000 children were victims of abuse by clergy since 1950. 

The 2,500 page report sadly reflects a well-known phenomenon of child abuse within the Catholic Church. Scandals in Ireland, the United States, Australia and elsewhere have confirmed that this is a more widespread phenomenon. 

Jean-Marc Sauvé is a specialist in public law and former senior French civil servant. He was appointed by the French Bishops' Conference of France(CEF) to head CIASE. He found that abuse was systemic and that the church had turned a blind eye to the abuse and had done nothing to prevent it. 

The independent commission was created in November 2018, at the request of the French Bishops' Conference and the French Conference of Religious Men and Women. Its mission was to shed light on the sexual abuse of minors in the Catholic Church in France since 1950, to study how these cases were handled, and to assess the measures taken by the Church and to formulate recommendations. 

The CIASE is made up of 22 members with multidisciplinary skills including experts in law, medicine, psychology, social and child protection. It is estimated that it cost €3 million and was funded by the Church.

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