A French archbishop has been found guilty of covering up child sexual abuse by a priest in his diocese in yet another crushing blow to the Catholic church’s credibility on the most damaging issue it has faced in recent history. Barbarin, the highest-profile French Catholic cleric to face trial in relation to sexual abuse, was not in court to hear the verdict. In correspondence with Barbarin about the priest, Ferrer advised the cardinal to take “necessary disciplinary measures while avoiding public scandal”. A film based on testimonies from survivors of Preynat’s abuse, By the Grace of God, opened in French cinemas last month. Two other senior French religious figures have previously been convicted of failing to report child abuse: the archbishop of Bayeux-Lisieux, Pierre Rican, in 2001, and the former bishop of Orléans, André Fort, last year.

Source: The Guardian March 07, 2019 09:30 UTC