The Vatican will launch a preliminary investigation into the case after Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard of the Catholic Church in France confessed to sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl 35 years ago.
Vatican Press Secretary Matteo Bruni made a statement regarding Cardinal Ricard’s confession that he sexually abused a 14-year-old girl 35 years ago.
Stating that a decision was made to open a preliminary investigation into the cardinal’s confession, Bruni said that an “impartial and experienced” official was being sought to conduct the investigation.
Bruni said that the decision to open a preliminary investigation was taken to examine what happened, taking into account the elements that have emerged in recent days and the cardinal’s statement.
Bruni declined to respond
Recalling allegations that the girl victim of abuse had sent two letters to Pope Francis, the spiritual leader of Catholics and head of state of the Vatican, Bruni declined to answer whether the Pope had received them.
Sister Veronique Margron, president of the French Clergy Conference, told local media this week that the girl victim of abuse had written two letters to Pope Francis, the spiritual leader of Catholics and head of the Vatican, one five years ago and the other in May or June.
Cardinal confessed to child molestation
In a written statement released on November 7, Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard of the Catholic Church in France said, “When I was a priest 35 years ago, I treated a 14-year-old girl in a way that deserved to be accused. My behavior, as predicted, had serious and lasting consequences for this person.”
Cardinal Ricard stated that he had withdrawn from all religious duties he had undertaken.
Stating that he had spoken to the girl he molested and asked for forgiveness, Ricard did not give information about when he had this conversation.
Archbishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort told a conference of bishops in France on November 7 that 11 current or former bishops were implicated in the sexual abuse allegations being investigated by French justice and church authorities.
Marseille Prosecutor’s Office launched a preliminary investigation on November 8
Moulins-Beaufort pointed out that Ricard was among the 11 bishops.
Following Ricard’s confession, the Marseille Prosecutor’s Office in France launched a preliminary investigation into the incident on November 8.
Ricard, who served as a priest in an archdiocese-administered parish in Marseille in the 1980s, has been in charge of the diocese of Digne since 2019, when he retired as Archbishop of Bordeaux.
An independent commission’s report published in 2021 revealed that some 330,000 children in France had been sexually abused by priests or people linked to the church over 70 years.
