Archbishop Éric de Moulins-Beaufort, chairman of the French bishops' conference, spoke of a "shock for the faithful".

A new abuse scandal is rocking the French church as President Emmanuel Macron left for Rome on Sunday.

He will be received in audience by Pope Francis this Monday.

But according to the Élysée Palace, the question of how to deal with sexual abuse in the church should not be discussed.

Michael Wiegel

Political correspondent based in Paris.

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This topic had already been discussed during Macron's previous visit to the Vatican.

In November 2021, Macron spoke to the Pope about the recently published final report of the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (Ciase), headed by former President of the Administrative Court Jean-Marc Sauvé.

The report described the "systemic extent" of sexual abuse and launched a debate about the changes needed to quickly resolve grievances and protect victims.

In November 2021, at its annual assembly in Lourdes, the episcopacy recognized its “institutional responsibility” for the violence and vowed renewal.

An independent commission to compensate the victims was set up.

This was publicly recognized as a revolutionary change by the bishops in the fight against sexual abuse.

But now the Catholic magazine "Famille Chrétienne" has revealed that bishops had concluded a kind of silence pact just in the context of the publication of the Ciase report.

Like the Vatican, they kept secret the real reasons that prompted the Bishop of Creteil, Michel Santier, to resign.

Officially, it was said that Santier had asked for his resignation for health reasons.

He feels powerless after a corona infection and no longer has the necessary energy to carry out his office.

One garment per sin

What the public did not learn: In fact, in October 2021, the Pope had punished Santier for “spiritual abuse for sexual purposes” on two adult men and committed him to a “reclusive life of prayer”.

In the 1990s, Santier forced two young men, including a future priest, to make so-called striptease confessions.

In front of the tabernacle they had to take off a piece of clothing for every confessed sin.

Santier was then a priest in Coutances, Normandy, responsible for teaching young adults about the faith.

The cleric was considered a pioneer of charismatic renewal and attracted young people who were searching for meaning.

After the two men reported to the church authorities in 2019, the then Archbishop of Paris, Michel Aupetit, confronted Bishop Santier.

The diocese of Creteil is part of the Paris metropolitan area.

Santier confessed.

Aupetit immediately forwarded the incident to Rome, whereupon disciplinary proceedings were initiated.

The revelation bothered the former Archbishop of Paris.

Aupetit tweeted: "Why are so many people digging through the trash?

Do you want to gorge yourself on the bad smells or hide your own trash?”

“Aggravated the scandal with silence out of cowardice or calculation”

"Bishops must recognize that the handling of the Santier case is a cluster bomb," said historian of religion Martin Dumont.

In his opinion, "there is no real trust in the Church when one learns in this way that a bishop has been secretly sanctioned and that this has not been made public".

"The church as an institution, out of cowardice or calculation, has made the scandal worse with silence," said the theologian Véronique Margron from the Association of French Women Religious.

"Shock and disgust," wrote the director of the Catholic newspaper "La Croix", Jérôme Chapuis.

"The worst thing is that the trust in the church that was gradually being restored has now been completely destroyed," said Jean-Pierre Sautreau, who belongs to an organization for those affected.

As the Archbishop of Rouen, Dominique Lebrun, announced in a press release, other victims of Santier's "strip confessions" have now come forward.

"I would like to express my anger at these unspeakable events," said Lebrun.

He wrote that he had also called the public prosecutor's office.

"There can be no exceptions for bishops," Lebrun said.

Canon law does not require the criminal justice system to be involved.

There is also no transparency obligation, neither for the investigation of a case nor for the final decision.

The solidarity of the bishops went further than originally thought.

On Maundy Thursday in April of this year, Santier celebrated mass alongside his successor, Dominique Blanchet.

The new bishop of Créteil is also deputy chairman of the French bishops' conference.

In a communiqué, Blanchet has now apologized for this "error of assessment".