The Vatican has known for years about the conduct of Abbé Pierre, now accused of sexual assault by several women, one of whom was a minor at the time, Pope Francis revealed as he was returning from his lengthy tour of Asia on Friday, September 13. "I don't know when the Vatican learned about it; I don't know. I don't know because I wasn't here [he was elected in 2023], and it never occurred to me to investigate this, but certainly after his death [in 2007], it became known, but before, I don't know," the head of the Catholic Church replied to a question from Le Monde at a press conference aboard the plane from Singapore to Rome, following a 12-day trip to Asia. "Sexual abuse of children, of minors, is a crime and a disgrace," the pontiff said by way of condemnation. Abbé Pierre's youngest known victim was eight years old at the time of the events.

The pope also called for openness on the subject, implicitly endorsing the investigative work being carried out on the initiative of Emmaüs, the organization founded by Abbé Pierre which disclosed the assaults he committed. "We must speak clearly about these things and not hide them. The fight against abuse is something we all must engage in," he said. He then added, "I'm glad when these cases come to light."

Francis was speaking for the first time on the subject since the revelations by Emmaüs, after initial testimonies were gathered by Véronique Margron, the president of the Conference of Religious of France (CORREF), commissioned an investigation by the independent firm Egaé. The results, published on July 17, revealed multiple sexual assaults by the former Resistance fighter, who became a member of parliament and defender of the poor in the aftermath of the Second World War. Most of the victims were Emmaüs employees or volunteers, who reported forced touching and kissing between 1970 and 2005, two years before his death at the age of 94. One of the victims was 16 years old.

The publication of this first report convinced other victims to step forward. On September 6, Emmaüs and the Abbé Pierre Foundation published a new report revealing even more details and more serious ones: The youngest victim was eight years old. A case of forced fellatio, which constitutes rape under French law, was also reported.

The first testimonies date back to 1956, raising the question of the code of silence that surrounded Abbé Pierre. "Bishops in the know and Emmaüs administrators hushed up the cases," write the four researchers from the socio-historical research team of the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (Ciase), in an op-ed published in Le Monde on July 20, after the publication of the Egaé investigation.

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