A year after the first revelations of sexual abuse by the French priest and homeless charity founder Abb Pierre, twelve new victims, including seven minors, have been identified. The Catholic Church and Emmas, the charity organisation founded by Abb Pierre, have put in place a compensation fund.

Henri Grous, who was known as Abb Pierre, who died in 2007, has now been accused of 45acts of sexual violence, including twelve new ones received since January by ga,the helpline dedicated to the victims.

Seven of these testimonies concern people who were minors" as young as 10 years old at the time of the events, said the expert firm commissioned by Emmaus to shed light on the matter in areport posted on the Emmaus France website.

Among them are two sisters, one of whom recounted Abb Pierre masturbating her" when she was 11 years old in the mid-1970s. Her sister said she had been forced to perform oral sex on him when she was 15, which is considered rape.

Another victim, aged 17 at the time, said the priest had touched her things under her skirt while they were travelling together on a train in 1953, but when she arrived, the nuns who greeted her said she had imagined everything.

Financial reparations

In a separate statement, Emmaus said it and the French Bishops' Conference (CEF) have decided to set up a joint financial reparation scheme for these victims", operational as of September, to mark material recognition of the violence and consequences suffered".

The scheme will be run by the Commission for recognition and reparation (CRR), a bodyset up by the CEF in 2021after revelations about paedocriminality in the Church since the 1950s.

The other reparation body set up by the Church, Inirr, has pledged to cover reparations three victims for Abb Pierre who have reached out to it.

The CRR and Inirr are collecting testimonies from victims and offering financial compensation of up to 60,000.

'Transparency' on Abb Pierre

Emmaus, which says it is committed to shining a light on the abuse, says its research commission is expected to release a report at the start of 2027.

The archives of the French Catholic church, which wereopened in mid-September, showed that thechurch hierarchy had kept silentfrom the 1950s onwards about the behaviour of Abb Pierre, and a book published in April alleges theVatican was aware as well.

Despite requests from the CEF,no criminal investigation will be openedto establish responsibility for the accusations, because the priest died in 2007, and the statue of limitations has run out.

(with AFP)

Originally published on RFI