An overview which provides an initial, but still incomplete, inventory of the management of sexual violence within the Foreign Missions of Paris (MEP). This is what reveals the audit report published this Thursday, December 12 by the society of apostolic life which has been sending priests to evangelize in Asia and the Indian Ocean for nearly four centuries. Produced by the independent British firm GCPS Consulting specializing in safeguarding (protection and vigilance against sexual abuse, Editor’s note), this report highlights the need to adopt concrete measures to prevent sexual violence in MEPs.
The study, which focuses on “allegations” of sexual violence, was conducted over a period between 1950 and today. In total, 63 allegations are mentioned in the report, of which 8 are “proven”. They implicate 46 priests, or 3% of the 1,491 priests active within the MEP since 1950. A figure comparable to that reported by Ciase (around 2.8% of priests).
The GCPS firm, however, only studied 350 files of priests whose names appeared in the « minutes » of the permanent council, that is to say the minutes of the meetings of the superiors. “The total number of allegations identified (over 74 years) is weakpoint out the listeners. It is likely that the number of actual cases of sexual violence perpetrated by MEP priests is much higher.”
Systemic nature of abuse
What does this survey demonstrate? Displaced priests, minimized facts, protection of the institution… Without going into details, the report outlines a culture which favored abuse. In 2023, several Catholic titles including The Croix revealed the existence of canonical or criminal proceedings against four members of the Foreign Missions of Paris, including two former superiors from the 2010s who subsequently became bishops: Mgr Georges Collomb (bishop of La Rochelle, removed after an accusation of rape ) and Mgr Gilles Reithinger (former auxiliary bishop of Strasbourg who was the subject of a prior canonical investigation for having been designated by an MEP priest as one of the clerics who initiated him into an active and secret sexual life within the congregation). Both deny these accusations.
Without directly addressing the question of individual and collective responsibility, the report points to an increase in reports in the 2010s – the most critical period with the 1970s – and puts forward an explanation for the “concerning practices at MEP headquarters” in Paris: attitudes then reflect “an ambiguous atmosphere or even requests, as well as control dynamics and power games”support the listeners. “Testimonies also describe ambiguous behavior on the part of certain priests residing on rue du Bac, interpreted as a form of pressure for sexual relations,” they add.
More broadly, the GCPS Consulting survey reports that many MEP priests put forward homosexuality as one of the causes of sexual violence. This prism, points out the report, however, prevented them from thinking about the role of power relations in sexual violence committed by priests against lay people – the victims being mainly women (38 for 23 male victims). “The issue of sexual orientation seems to take precedence over that of consent and abuse of power”we can read.
The superior general of the society, Father Vincent Sénéchal, refuted in 2023 in the columns of La Croix the existence of a ” system “. Faced with the facts reported in the document published this Thursday, the former missionary in Cambodia, who was also No. 2 of the MEPs under the previous mandate (2016-2021), says today “stricken with indignation”, while still refuting the existence of such a system: “The report as such does not show that there would be, for example, a mastermind who would have set up a modus operandi for serial abuse”he believes. It shows a failing framework, and people who deviate. »
The forgotten victims
In addition to these findings which can be transposed to the diocesan clergy or other communities, the report describes a management of abuse that is all the more inappropriate given that MEP priests are sent on mission to sometimes remote areas, where supervision is difficult and where local culture – marked by the “ conflict avoidance »the “respect for authority”the “priority given to collective harmony over individual situations” – prevents the release of speech.
Direct consequence: despite calls for testimony broadcast and translated in the communities, no victims were reported during the year of investigation. Which also explains that the country with the highest number of reports between 1970 and 2024 is France (19), far ahead of Thailand (10), Cambodia (7) then Japan and India (5). .
So, how can we actively search for victims of sexual violence in these remote communities? “There are no channels accessible to people who do not have a smartphone or computer, nor channels accessible to those who cannot read and write”describes the report. A response that is all the more urgent to give as many MEP missions are in contact with vulnerable people: young people in boarding schools, refugees, etc.
The support for victims, we can read, is subject to a flaw “systemic”“with a primary focus on reporting incidents rather than providing resources to help victims “. To change practices, the auditors suggest placing emphasis on adapting protection measures to local cultural contexts, identifying key people or even carefully monitoring abuse prevention initiatives. “in each parish managed by an MEP priest”.
If GCPS Consulting lists a certain number of recommendations in terms of protection and prevention, the care of victims as well as the active search for potential others are rarely discussed. The report also ignores reparation for victims of sexual violence by MEP priests.
Need for a historical commission of inquiry
A monitoring committee made up of external people will publish a report per year on the implementation of the measures recommended by the firm. “ The audit holds up a mirror to us from which we cannot turn away”assures Father Sénéchal. “ A list of priority projects to be carried out is being studied. We are going to hire experts on abuse from outside, have a charter of commitment signed, establish compulsory training for priests,” continues the man who will report on this project to the MEP assembly at the end of his mandate in 2028. Should we go further and launch a historical commission to examine in particular personal and collective responsibilities? “The question remains opendeclares Vincent Sénéchal. I can’t answer it today, we must first digest this audit. »
Within society, some voices fear that without more exhaustive work, a necessary cultural change will not be able to take place within MEPs.
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