Nuns used crucifixes to rape girls during decades of abuse carried out by clergy in France's Catholic Church that saw at
Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2021 1:49 am
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Nuns used crucifixes to rape girls during decades of abuse carried out by clergy in France's Catholic Church that saw attacks on 330,000 children covered up 'by a veil of silence'.
The 2,500-page landmark report was released Tuesday after more than two years of investigations by an independent commission, in France's first major reckoning with the devastating phenomenon.
A victim named 'Marie' testified that she was abused as an 11-year-old and that when she complained about the abuse to her parents they refused to believe a nun could do such a thing. The abuse continued for another year.
'I was truly [a gift] for this nun... because she knew full well that she did not risk anything,' Marie said.
Eighty per cent of victims were young boys between the ages of 10 and 13, however many girls also suffered abuse, not only by priests but also by nuns.
Nuns used crucifixes to rape little girls or forced boys to have sex with them, according to the report.
Pope Francis today expressed to the victims his 'great sorrow, for their wounds', adding that he was grateful for the courage they had shown in denouncing what they had been through.
Olivier Savignac, who was sexually abused by a priest in 1993, at the age of 13, has contributed to the report as a victims' representative.
'I perceived this priest as someone who was good, a caring person who would not harm me,' said Savignac. 'But it was when I found myself on that bed half-naked and he was touching me that I realised something was wrong.'
He says the abuse, which carried on for years, damaged him for life: 'It's like a growing cyst, it's like gangrene inside the victim's body and the victim's psyche.'
'We can see how systemic it was ... with an estimated number of 216,000 victims,' Savignac told Reuters, adding that the Church could not have ignored something of that magnitude.
'It's an earthquake, a hurricane, a tsunami ... when you see these numbers, it's so damning that no one can stay in denial, whether the Catholic Church or society as a whole,' he added.
A statement from the Vatican said: 'First of all [the Pope's] thoughts go to the victims, with great sorrow, for their wounds.'
'It is truly unbearable. I express my shame, my dread, my determination to act. You, the victims, some of whom I know by name, I want to tell you that my desire on this day is to ask for your forgiveness.'
The commission that compiled the report urged compensation for victims and strong action from the church, denouncing 'faults' and 'silence'.
See the article for photos and more info
Nuns used crucifixes to rape girls during decades of abuse carried out by clergy in France's Catholic Church that saw attacks on 330,000 children covered up 'by a veil of silence'.
The 2,500-page landmark report was released Tuesday after more than two years of investigations by an independent commission, in France's first major reckoning with the devastating phenomenon.
A victim named 'Marie' testified that she was abused as an 11-year-old and that when she complained about the abuse to her parents they refused to believe a nun could do such a thing. The abuse continued for another year.
'I was truly [a gift] for this nun... because she knew full well that she did not risk anything,' Marie said.
Eighty per cent of victims were young boys between the ages of 10 and 13, however many girls also suffered abuse, not only by priests but also by nuns.
Nuns used crucifixes to rape little girls or forced boys to have sex with them, according to the report.
Pope Francis today expressed to the victims his 'great sorrow, for their wounds', adding that he was grateful for the courage they had shown in denouncing what they had been through.
Olivier Savignac, who was sexually abused by a priest in 1993, at the age of 13, has contributed to the report as a victims' representative.
'I perceived this priest as someone who was good, a caring person who would not harm me,' said Savignac. 'But it was when I found myself on that bed half-naked and he was touching me that I realised something was wrong.'
He says the abuse, which carried on for years, damaged him for life: 'It's like a growing cyst, it's like gangrene inside the victim's body and the victim's psyche.'
'We can see how systemic it was ... with an estimated number of 216,000 victims,' Savignac told Reuters, adding that the Church could not have ignored something of that magnitude.
'It's an earthquake, a hurricane, a tsunami ... when you see these numbers, it's so damning that no one can stay in denial, whether the Catholic Church or society as a whole,' he added.
A statement from the Vatican said: 'First of all [the Pope's] thoughts go to the victims, with great sorrow, for their wounds.'
'It is truly unbearable. I express my shame, my dread, my determination to act. You, the victims, some of whom I know by name, I want to tell you that my desire on this day is to ask for your forgiveness.'
The commission that compiled the report urged compensation for victims and strong action from the church, denouncing 'faults' and 'silence'.
See the article for photos and more info