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| Cardinal Philippe Barbarin |
(Paris) Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, Archbishop of Lyon and Primate of the Gauls, was today questioned by the police. It is about the accusation that the cardinal could have covered up abuse by a priest from 25 years ago.
For weeks the Cardinal was in the spotlight of the French press. Because of his rank in the Catholic Church it is also reported in international media. Barbarin was heard as a witness. No charges were filed against him.
The media seems to want to induce an accusation outright. The Socialist Secretary Juliette Méadel has already demanded his resignation. The framing of a Church leader is not difficult in government circles. The climate in France has been fueled since the socialist government takeover. Cardinal Barbarin had spoken strongly against the legalization of "gay marriage".
The legal question is complicated. The priest Bernard Preynat was indicted last January, for having offended against several children 1986-1991.
Cardinal Barbarin was certain he had uncovered no sexual abuse. It was only in 2002 that the Archbishop of Lyon discovered it many years after Preynat's last alleged assault.
The "scandal" was raised by the media around the question of when the Cardinal learned of the incidents. Preynat worked until 2015 in the Archdiocese. The diocese had filed a complaint against him in the autumn of last year.
According to media reports, the responses of the diocese would have changed over time. First Cardinal Barbarin had declared to have had a first contact with an alleged victim in 2014. Later he said that they had heard rumors 2007/2008 first through third parties. The time issue has now been brought into plain view, because it involved the statutory limitation periods for the crime of cover-up.
The Motu Proprio of Pope Francis on the deposing of bishops
Last Saturday the motu proprio issued by Pope Francis that the Pope gives extensive possibilities to depose bishops and religious superiors has, since then, been seen in connection with the case of Barbarin.
The Cardinal had admitted to "errors in the administration" through the appointment of some priests last April 25 at a meeting of his diocesan priests. It is exactly this formulation that can be found in the Motu Proprio of Pope Francis again.
The victims of Preynat have come together in the Association La Parole Libérée (Free to Speak) and say, that Cardinal Barbarin had followed an earlier line, which was in force in the Church, that one should remain silent about such incidents. Six of them have filed a complaint against the Cardinal and therefore, initiated the investigation against the Cardinal, which led to his interrogation today.
The Preynat case had come through the Diocese's notice, began the process in October, 2015. Since then, investigations have been initiated against other priests of the archdiocese because the media reports further allegations were made. There have been no convictions.
This coming Friday, the Court will rule on the limitation period in the case Preynat. Should the court confirm the statute of limitations, it is likely to be an invalid charge against the Cardinal. However, since the case has stirred up so much commotion, and touches upon the sensitive anti-clerical milieu in France, not all lawyers share this opinion.
So far, one bishop in France was convicted of covering up a sexual abuse case. It was Msgr. Pierre Pican, who was sentenced in 2001 to three months conditional imprisonment.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: MiL (Screenshot)
Image: MiL (Screenshot)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.clom
AMDG
I am sure that this case will drag the Church thru the mud...Barbarin was probably neglectful....as are Dolan, etc.
ReplyDeleteJust a thought about this Pope-I think he is mental ill. Today, in his usuall little homily at the little Casa Santa Marta he has been holed up in since 2013 , Francis said that those in the Catholic Church who say :it has to be this way or nothing" are heretics.
Now, I'm not a theologian, my field was history....although I had a distant relative who was a Cardinal in India(I never met him....Valerian Cardinal Gracias). Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it kinda dangerous for this Pope to be throwing the wornd "heretic" around....considering some of his actions and statements.
I always thought for a person, group or movement to be labeled "heretics" you had to in practice and belief be so far away from Catholic tradition, practive,observance and the teaching authority of the Church in order to be declared heretics. That's why the Lutherans were declared heretics in the 1520's....and other Protestant groups....the lasts being a nutjob handful of people in a little Italian village who honor the memory of the Bambinella who "supposedly" had a vision of the Child Jesus sleeping on a cloud.
If Francis can label good Catholics as heretics for doing something as minor as that....which isn't even against Catholic Faith....what does that make him, who has said and taught so many things that are? If anyone is a heretic...he is (among others of his thinking)
Damian Malliapalli
This is the quote from the newspaper:
ReplyDeleteAt a morning Mass on June 9, Pope Francis said that Catholics who insist things must be done a certain way are heretics.
In his homily the Pope said that Catholics are often told "we must do this, this way." He firmly condemned that attitude, saying: "This is not Catholic; this is heretical."
There he goes again, slamming good, traditional Catholics. I guess Francis is a "anything goes, do your own thing, I'm okay you're okay, make everything up as we go along" kind of Catholic.
Damian Malliapalli