French archbishop accused of sex abuse cover-up attempts
A French prominent cardinal has been accused of covering up the sexual abuse of minors by promoting a pedophile convict priest in central France.
According to a recent report by the French newspaper Le Parisien, Archbishop of Lyon Philippe Barbarin allowed an unnamed pedophile priest to take a job in his diocese, despite knowing that the man had been given an 18-month suspended prison sentence for sexually abusing minor students in a house that he supervised.
Barbarin, however, denied the allegations, saying the priest had not received any promotion. But he admitted that the convict was still employed by the Lyon diocese.
A few days earlier, the episcopate faced other allegations of failing to remove another pedophile priest, named Bernard Preynat, who was charged in January with sexually abusing boy scouts between 1986 and 1991. According to prosecutors, Preynat had admitted his pedophilia and crimes of abuse.
Sixty-five-year-old Barbarin strongly rejected the allegations at a press conference on Tuesday, saying “I have never, never, never covered up acts of pedophilia.”
Barbarin’s remarks came hours after French Prime Minister Manuel Valls urged him to “take his responsibility and act.”
The Roman Catholic Church has been hit by numerous scandals over the past few years, involving allegations of child sex abuse by priests and cover-up attempts by priests in high positions.
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