The French Church announced Monday that 11 bishops in France have been accused of sexual assault. This concerns both the still in office and the formerly active clergy. As a result, the large number of cases of abuse in the Roman Catholic Church is increasing again.
One of the accused clergy is Jean-Pierre Ricard, former Archbishop of Bordeaux. He admitted that 35 years ago he abused a 14-year-old girl when he was a village priest. He has resigned from all his positions.
The accused bishops face a lawsuit. The Archbishop of Reims said the church would also start disciplinary measures. He is also the President of the Episcopal Conference in France.
Last year, researchers found that clergymen in France sexually abused more than 200,000 children over the past 70 years. The Catholic Church knew of most cases, but turned a blind eye to them.
In recent years, a large number of scandals have been exposed around the world about the abuse of children by Catholic clergy. It was mostly about underage boys. The vast majority of the violations were covered up.
