Victims of sexual abuse in the French Catholic Church have demanded action after the publication of a damning new inquiry.
Since 1950, clergy in the organisation have sexually abused some 216,000 children, according to the report – mostly boys.
Pope Francis “felt pain” on hearing about the inquiry’s finding, a Vatican statement said.
Those abused are demanding compensation after the revelations.
François Devaux, who founded the former victims’ association La Parole Libérée (Freed speech), said there had been a “betrayal of trust, betrayal of morale, betrayal of children”.
He called for compensation for the victims. “You must pay for all these crimes,” he said twice on stage at a launch event for the report.
Another survivor, Olivier Savignac, who is the head of victims association Parler et Revivre (Speak out and Live again), described the report as “an earthquake”. He similarly called for “real compensation” for those affected.
“It’s not simply a couple of thousand euros – with a little payment, we sweep it away. No. It’s about a real compensation based on the suffering of each person.”
The French Church has previously announced a plan for “financial contributions” to victims, beginning next year.
A group of sex victims’ associations said they expected “clear and concrete responses by the Church” in light of the inquiry.
According to the report there were at least 2,900-3,200 abusers. It said the number of children abused in France could rise to 330,000, when taking into account abuses committed by lay members of the Church such as teachers at Catholic schools, and also called for the victims to be compensated.
The Vatican statement said the Pope had expressed “deep sadness” for the victims, hailing “their courage in coming forward”.Pope Francis during Mass at the Vatican, September 2021
The report’s release follows a number of abuse claims and prosecutions against Catholic Church officials worldwide.
The independent inquiry was commissioned by the French Catholic Church in 2018. It spent more than two-and-a-half years combing through court, police and Church records and speaking to victims and witnesses.
Most cases assessed by the inquiry are thought to be too old to prosecute under French law.
