A French appeals court is deciding the fate of a French cardinal convicted for covering up the sexual abuse of minors by a priest in his flock
By
NICOLAS VAUX-MONTAGNY Associated Press
January 30, 2020, 12:13 PM
3 min read
Lyon, France -- A French appeals court is deciding whether a French cardinal is guilty of covering up the sexual abuse of minors in his flock.
Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, the archbishop of Lyon, was found guilty in March of failing to report a predator priest to police and given a six-month suspended sentence. But Pope Francis refused to accept the cardinal's decision to resign until the appeals process is complete.
The Lyon court, in southeast France, is to rule Thursday afternoon. The prosecutor's office was seeking an acquittal.
Barbarin, 69, said at his appeals trial in November that he filed an appeal because "I cannot see clearly what I am guilty of."
The verdict comes at a time of increasing scrutiny around the world of the Catholic Church’s role in hiding abuse by its clergy.
The court had ruled that Barbarin, "in wanting to avoid scandal caused by the facts of multiple sexual abuses committed by a priest ... preferred to take the risk of preventing the discovery of many victims of sexual abuse by the justice system, and to prohibit the expression of their pain.”
Bernard Preynat, the now-defrocked priest at the center of the scandal, described to a court at his trial earlier this month how he systematically abused boys over two decades as a French scout chaplain. Preynat said his superiors knew about his “abnormal” behavior as far back as the 1970s.
“Had the church sidelined me earlier, I would have stopped earlier,” Preynat said.
Preynat, now 74, faces up to 10 years in prison in what is France's biggest clergy sex abuse trial to date. He's suspected of abusing around 75 boys, but his testimony suggests the overall number could be even higher. That verdict is expected in March.
The case against Barbarin hinges on a 2014 discussion with victim Alexandre Hezez, who told the cardinal about the sexual abuse he had suffered in the 1980s by Preynat during scout camps. Hezez felt the priest should no longer lead a parish.
Barbarin told the appeal hearing that he followed Vatican instructions after that discussion with Hezez. He suggested he could not have done more.
At the trial of Preynat, victims testified about how much power the priest had held over them and the lifelong damage that his abuse caused.
“I saw this community that admired this man, and I was his protege, his pet,” said victim Francois Devaux.
