The Ciase counterattacks. The website of the Independent Commission on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church (Ciase) was made public on Wednesday, February 9, three texts to respond point by point to the criticisms made by members of the Catholic Academy of France against the conclusions of its report. This one, drafted at the request of the episcopate and religious congregations, was published on October 5, 2021. He had revealed the extent of pedocriminality in the clergy and formulated recommendations to prevent it.
A month later, eight leaders of the Catholic Academy of France – an institution bringing together personalities from various backgrounds – had transmitted to the Vatican a vitriolic text against the conclusions of the Ciase. Neither the analyzes nor the recommendations found favor in their eyes. The signatories accused the commission chaired by Jean-Marc Sauvé of presenting the fruits of its investigation in a biased way in order to “close the discussion” and to compel the representatives of the Catholic Church to acquiesce without flinching to his recommendations « ideological ». In particular, they criticized the highlighting of the estimate of 216,000 people now of age who have been victims, minors, of a priest or a religious, a figure that rises to 330,000 if we add to it the victims of lay people on mission. “Scientific rigor has not presided over its work”, they accused.
After the publication of this fifteen-page Philippic, which found an echo in some conservative segments of the Catholic Church, Jean-Marc Sauvé decided to answer it in detail. This is the subject of the ninety-six pages posted online by the Ciase. “We could not be satisfied with a shrug of the shoulder in the face of these venomous attacks made in a process of denial, denigration and destruction, explains to the World the former vice-president of the State Council. For what is at stake today is the ability of the Catholic Church to continue to bring a word of salvation to our society. What she has given herself the means to do by embarking on a path of recognition and reparation for what has happened. » At the end of this examination, he says, “nothing remains of the very serious criticisms that were addressed to this report by the Catholic Academy “.
INSEE expertise
The objections of the Catholic academicians were of three orders. They questioned the figures of sexual violence committed since 1950; they attacked legal and theological analyses; finally, they questioned the legitimacy of the ICASE to propose changes to the Church.
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