Priest faces sexual assault and child porn charges in France

A priest in a town southeast of Paris has been accused of sexual assault and child pornography charges after a 22-year-old former choirboy accused him of abuse, and a police search found pictures of a young parishioner in his home, a prosecutor said.

The new case added to a wave of sexual abuse allegations made by church members across Europe in recent weeks that have put the Vatican on the defensive and fuelled a growing sense of crisis.

Some of the cases have raised questions about whether Joseph Ratzinger acted aggressively enough against priests under his supervision as an archbishop and cardinal before he became Pope Benedict XVI.

French bishops said in a letter to the Pope that they were ashamed of the “abominable acts” of child sexual abuse by priests.

In another mea culpa, a conservative religious order that had enjoyed the favour of John Paul II apologised to victims of sexual abuse by its founder.

The new French probe was opened after the 22-year-old man told authorities that he had been assaulted by the priest as an adult, the prosecutor of Troyes, Alex Perrin, said.

Police searched the priest’s home and found two or three pornographic photos of a child parishioner in Marcilly-le-Hayer, the prosecutor said by telephone.

“This news is upsetting to everyone,” the bishop of Troyes, Marc Stenger, wrote in a statement published in Friday in the local paper, L’Est- Eclair. But, he said, “this must not be the hour of judgment and condemnation. We must wait to know the truth”.

The bishop asked the priest to be moved elsewhere during the probe, according to the prosecutor, who said the investigation could take several months.

Mr Perrin said the priest was detained on Wednesday for questioning. Preliminary charges of “sexual assault” and “illegal possession of images characteristic of child pornography”, were issued yesterday, opening the way for a formal investigation.

The priest was freed after questioning, but ordered to receive treatment and forbidden any contact with minors, Mr Perrin said.

Mr Perrin was not authorised to name the priest because of the secrecy that covers investigations in France.

Such cases involving priests “are not something common in the L’Aube region” where Marcilly-le-Hayer is located, Mr Perrin said, adding that this was the first time in his memory such an affair had come to light.

The letter to Benedict from French bishops, and a website statement by the Legionaries of Christ both contained expressions of solidarity toward Benedict for his handling of abuse cases.

French bishops said in their letter to Benedict that they are ashamed of priests who molested and raped children. The bishops said these “abominable acts” had “disfigured the church, wounded Christian communities and cast suspicion on all the members of the clergy”.

But they also expressed solidarity with Benedict, saying the sexual abuse scandals were “being used in a campaign to attack you personally”.

Leaders of the Legionaries of Christ said that at first they couldn’t believe the accusations against the late Mexican prelate Marcial Maciel, including molestation of seminarians and that he had a long relationship with a woman and fathered a daughter with her.

But they said it was thanks to an investigation by the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, under the direction of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Benedict, that they were convinced the allegations were true.