France Rebukes Top Bishop in Church Sex Abuse Investigation

France’s government has summoned the head of the French bishops’ conference after he said that secrets shared in confession are above the law, as the country reels from new revelations about large-scale sexual abuse of children within the Catholic Church.

Monsignor Eric de Moulins-Beaufort shocked some in France when he told France-Info radio Wednesday that “the secrets of confession are stronger than the laws of the republic.”

The comments came in response to recommendations in a study released Tuesday estimating that some 330,000 children were sexually abused over 70 years by priests or other church-related figures.

The report describes “systemic” coverup of abuses by the Catholic Church, and urged the church to respect the rule of law in France.

The church should send clear instructions to clergy receiving confession that they are legally obliged to report any cases of sexual violence against a child or vulnerable person to judicial authorities, the report stated in its recommendations.

French government spokesman Gabriel Attal insisted Thursday that “nothing is stronger than the laws of the republic.”

The monsignor has been summoned for a meeting next week with Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, Attal said.

According to Catholic doctrine, the confessional seal is inviolable, and the Catholic Church has refused similar demands to force priests to report sex crimes that they learn about in confession to police.

France is a traditionally Roman Catholic country, but adheres to a strict form of secularism in public life based on a 1905 law separating church and state.

On the subject of the ongoing fishing row between France and the UK, Attal reiterated that denying the renewal of fishing licenses to a large portion of smaller fishing boats was still simply unacceptable.

He said it was a decision of the British authorities who do not respect the agreement that was reached in the context of the Brexit.

Attal added the EU and France were looking at retaliatory measures without saying what those might be.

A meeting of EU maritime ministers is due to take place in Luxembourg next week.

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