The late Abbe Pierre, a respected advocate of the homeless, France’s most well-known priest, has been accused of sexually abusing several women and a youngster, his organisations said Wednesday.
Henri Groues (aka Abbé Pierre), a Capuchin monk since 1932 and an ordained Catholic pastor since 1938, passed away in 2007 at 94. He left behind a legacy as founder of the charities Emmaus and the Abbe Pierre Foundation as a friend to the impoverished.
On Wednesday, however, it came to light that seven women had claimed, between 1970 and 2005, claims of sexual assault or harassment by the old monk.
“Our companies honour the bravery of the people who have testified and let these truths be known through their words. We believe them,” declared the foundation of the abbot and homeless charity Emmaus in a joint statement.
Following an initial claim that Groues had assaulted a lady, the charity commissioned an independent assessment that details the claims.
“This work meant the testimony of seven women could be gathered, attesting to behaviour that could be interpreted as sexual assault or sexual harassment,” the organisations said between 1970 and 2005.
One of the women “was underage at the time of the events”.
As of yet, no criminal complaint has been registered, said a source at Emmaus to AFP.
“Shame that a priest could commit such acts,” the bishop’s France’s Catholic Church conference stated in a social media post.
Groues is still a frequent figure on charity store posters and in metro stations, pushing French people to consider the underprivileged seventeen years after his death.
At age 18, he left his inheritance to join the Capuchin monastic order. Later, he participated in the Resistance under Nazi rule and spent several post-war years as a parliamentarian.
He started the Emmaus community in 1949, advocating self-help for underprivileged individuals, and it has since expanded to scores of nations.
Along with supporting the “Restos du Coeur” soup kitchens movement, he confronted city officials neglecting to register people experiencing homelessness.
The author of the report, Caroline de Haas, claimed to have obtained evidence indicating “inappropriate behaviour of a personal nature, a sexual proposition, repeated comments with sexual connotations, attempts at unsolicited physical contact and unsolicited contact on the breasts”.
One of the ladies said Abbe Pierre had “started groping her left breast” as she was “at the foot of the stairs” in a hallway.
A few years later, she stated she visited him in an office.
“I came up to give him a handshake. He pushed me towards the window. No, Father, I said to him. I need it, he told me. ‘No,’ I answered, and he left the inquiry.
Another lady claimed Abbe Pierre “put his hands on her chest, breasts” as they “were talking about work”.
And another claimed, one day, “When saying goodbye, he inserted his tongue into my mouth brutally and unexpectedly”.
De Haas claimed that the inquiry had set off a growing shock at Abbe Pierre’s actions, which had gone unreported for so long.
She gestured at a “form of influence fuelled by the age difference, the status of Abbe Pierre and a form of idolatry, or the situation of subordination between him and the people.”
Three associations set up a confidential method for compiling evidence following the first grievances received.
Christophe Robert, managing director of the Abbe Pierre Foundation, called the discoveries “a terrible shock”.
The company chose, he said, to “shed light” on the claims and “give these victims a voice”.