The Church Requests a Judicial Inquiry Following New Allegations Against Abbé Pierre

On Friday, January 17, during an appearance on RMC, Mgr Éric de Moulins-Beaufort, President of the French Bishops’ Conference (CEF), announced that he had officially referred the case to the Paris prosecutor’s office, requesting a judicial investigation into Abbé Pierre following new damning revelations.

The third report commissioned by Emmaüs, published on Monday, disclosed nine additional accusations of sexual violence, including the rape of a child. These bring the total number of testimonies against the priest to 33, with 57 potential victims identified for incidents that occurred between the 1960s and 2000s.

Speaking on the program Apolline Matin, Mgr de Moulins-Beaufort explained that he had submitted a formal report to the Paris prosecutor to enable a thorough investigation into potential accomplices, instances of failure to report abuses, and other possible victims. “I believe we must get to the truth. This is why I submitted a report to the prosecutor, asking them to consider opening an investigation into Abbé Pierre,” he stated, adding that the report had been sent on Tuesday.

In a press release, the CEF clarified that this initiative specifically addresses the failure to report rapes and sexual assaults on vulnerable individuals and minors. The goal is to enable the judiciary to assess the necessity of launching an investigation to determine how these incidents went unreported for decades.

These revelations are part of an extensive investigation conducted by the independent consultancy Egae, commissioned by Emmaüs. Since September, Mgr de Moulins-Beaufort had already called for the opening of Church archives related to Abbé Pierre.

The new allegations, coupled with the release of two television documentaries this week, underline the need to pursue the truth about the actions of Emmaüs founder Henri Grouès, known as Abbé Pierre, who passed away in 2007.