French Catholic Church To Compensate Abuse Victims

The Associated Press reports:

France’s Catholic Church announced on Monday that it would financially compensate sex abuse victims by selling property assets or taking out a loan if needed. French bishops said in a written statement they will set up an “independent, national body” tasked with addressing compensation issues. They committed to allocating money to a specific fund “in order to compensate victims,” notably by selling property or through a potential loan.

They also called on Pope Francis to send “a team of visitors” to assess the church’s response regarding child protection. The Bishops Conference held its annual meeting a month after a report revealed large-scale child sex abuse within the French Catholic Church. The study released by an independent commission estimated that some 330,000 children were sexually abused over 70 years by priests or other church-related figures.

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The French Catholic Church committed to allocating money to a specific fund “in order to compensate victims,” notably by selling property or through a potential loan.https://t.co/rv6dnah4lA

— Religion News Service (@RNS) November 8, 2021