PARIS — France’s government has summoned the head of the French bishops’ conference after he said that secrets shared in the confessional are above the law, as the country reels from new revelations of large-scale child sex abuse within the Catholic Church.
Monsignor Eric de Moulins-Beaufort shocked some people in France when he told France-Info radio Wednesday that “the secrets of confession are stronger than the laws of the republic.”
The comments came in response to recommendations in a study released Tuesday estimating that some 330,000 children were sexually abused over 70 years by priests or other church-related figures.
The report describes “systemic” coverup of abuses by the Catholic Church, and urged the church to respect the rule of law in France. The church should send clear instructions to clergy receiving confession that they are legally obliged to report any cases of sexual violence against a child or vulnerable person to judicial authorities, the report stated in its recommendations.