Oct. 5 (UPI) — A report Tuesday by an independent commission that reflects three years of investigation found that more than 300,000 minors in France were abused by clergy or leaders in the Catholic Church over the past 70 years.
The 2,500-page report by the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church said the abuse occurred between 1950 and 2020. The Catholic Church in France requested that the investigative panel look into the issue.
The commission said about 216,000 minors were abused by Catholic clergy over the seven decades — and the total climbed to about 330,000 when including nonclergy abusers tied to the church, such as figures in Catholic schools and youth programs.
The analysis said most of the minor victims were boys and were systematically abused by about 3,000 French Catholic priests and clerics, out of a total of 115,000. The authors of the report said there could be tens of thousands more victims unaccounted for.
Commission President Jean-Marc Sauve said the investigation couldn’t definitively determine precisely how many accounts have gone unreported, and called the estimates “damning.”
“The church failed to see or hear, failed to pick up on the weak signals, failed to take the rigorous measures that were necessary,” Sauve told reporters Tuesday, according to The New York Times.
Amid growing criticism and reports of rampant sexual abuse within the church in France, Sauve was asked in 2018 to create the commission and investigate claims. The 21-member commission consisted of sociologists, historians, jurists, psychologists and theologians.
Nearly 6,500 victims and friends and family submitted testimony.
In its report, the panel makes dozens of recommendations, including improved training for priests, updating Canon Law and creating policies to find and compensate victims of abuse.
Last year, French priest Bernard Preynat was convicted of abusing more than 70 boys over a period of decades. He was sentenced to five years in prison. French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin was also convicted of failing to report sexual abuse involving Preynat, and given a suspended six-month sentence.