Abbé Pierre, a famous priest who died in 2007 and who founded the Emmaus Movement in France, has been accused of sexual abuse and harassment by at least seven victims, including one who was a minor.
A report published on July 17 by the Emmaus Movement, a solidarity institution that fights against poverty and homelessness, notes that these victims were employees and volunteers of Emmaus, as well as young women from Abbé Pierre’s social circle.
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According to them, the priest gave them unsolicited kisses and touching, and also made inappropriate sexual proposals and comments, between the late 1970s and 2005.
These accusations were reported for the first time in 2023, when Emmaus France received a complaint from a woman who accused Abbé Pierre of sexual assault.
This was then followed by an internal investigation led by Caroline De Haas, from the Egaé group, in which the testimonies of the seven victims were collected. Egaé, a company specialized in violence prevention, shared its belief that Abbé Pierre’s actions affected other victims dating back to the 1950s and 1960s, but the time that has passed has made it difficult to obtain more stories and testimonies.
In a recent statement, Emmaus praised the “courage of the people who have given their testimony and have made it possible, with their words, to bring this reality to light. We believe them and know that these intolerable acts have left their mark and we support them.”
The group then describes as “unacceptable” the acts committed by Abbé Pierre, who played “an important role in their history.”
“We owe it to the victims. Also to all those who, for more than 70 years, have carried out the actions of the movement on a daily basis,” the statement continues. “We share their pain and their anger, but also their determination to continue working, every day, to build a more just and supportive world.”
The Emmaus Movement was founded in Paris in 1949 by Abbé Pierre. Before these accusations and revelations, the Catholic priest and Capuchin friar was one of the most beloved and iconic figures of the Church of France.
After being part of the French resistance in World War II, the priest adopted the name Abbé Pierre to hide his work in creating false identity documents to help Jews cross the border from France into Switzerland.
Abbé Pierre was widely applauded for his efforts to help the homeless population in France, frequently raising money and persuading the French Parliament to pass pro-homeless laws, including a 1950s law that banned Landlords evict tenants in the winter. This “winter truce” law is still in force in France.
Despite his popularity, Abbé Pierre faced other controversies before this, such as when in 1996 he defended the book of a friend of his, Founding myths of Israeli politicswhich questioned the number of Jews murdered by the Nazis in World War II.
In a 2005 book of interviews by Frederic Lenoir titled My God why?, Abbé Pierre suggested that he had broken his vow of celibacy by having sexual relations when he was younger. He also expressed his support for married priests and the ordination of women.
Faced with these accusations, the French Episcopal Conference (CEF) published a statement in which he recognizes Abbé Pierre’s contribution to the renewal of “our society’s view towards the poorest”, while condemning his sexual assaults against women.
“Pending the published report, the CEF wishes to assure the victims of its deep compassion and shame that such acts could be committed by a priest,” the statement continued, “and reiterates its determination to act and thus make the Church a safe house.”
Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in CNA
Duncan’s teeth
Gigi Duncan is currently interning at Catholic News Agency (CNA). She recently graduated from the University of South Carolina, where she studied business and communications.