Cardinal Ricard: the Church of France once again in turmoil

The Catholic Church in France is facing a further crisis of confidence after a retired cardinal admitted to fellow bishops that he sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl some 35 years ago when he was parish priest in the city of Marseille. Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, the 78-year-old archbishop emeritus of Bordeaux, made his confession in a letter to members of the French Bishops’ Conference (CEF) as they met in Lourdes for a Nov. 3-8 plenary assembly.

The letter was made public on Monday by CEF president Archbishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort. It comes as a dramatic blow to the bishops who were only recently shaken by the case of another confrere, Michel Santier, the bishop emeritus of Créteil. At a time when the episcopal conference is struggling to deal with these "cases" affecting the Church, Cardinal Ricard's confession comes on top of the recent revelations surrounding Bishop Santier.

"Today, when the Church wishes to listen to the victims and act in truth, I have decided not to keep silent about my situation and to place myself at the mercy of justice both in society and in the Church," the cardinal confessed in his brief letter. "I behaved in a reprehensible manner with a 14-year-old girl. My behavior inevitably caused this person to suffer serious and lasting consequences," admitted Ricard, who retired in October 2019 on the day of his 75th birthday.

The bishops’ discussions are disrupted

Cardinal Ricard explained in the letter that he has had contact with the victim. "I have explained this to her and asked her for forgiveness, and I renew my request for forgiveness here, as well as to the entire family," he wrote. Apparently, the victim has never lodged a complaint against Ricard, although it is not clear if Church authorities have already reported the abuse to French prosecutors or the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith – of which the cardinal is a member. It would appear that his case falls beyond the statute of limitations. 

France allows a 30-year window from time the victim attains the age of majority. But in this case, the events would go back a little more than 31 years. This will not prevent either an investigation or a canonical procedure, which is not subject to the same provisions. In anticipation of any precautionary measures, Cardinal Ricard stated that, "because of these acts, I have decided to take a time of retreat and prayer".

These revelations, which — according to them — the bishops first learned about on Sunday, were then made public the next day at an emergency press conference. The bishops had been reflecting on how to improve their communication procedures during times when the Church is faced with abuse allegations.  Archbishop de Moulins-Beaufort decided to react quickly, through the press. "I must let you know what we received yesterday, unexpectedly. The process that is now going to be shared with you, at the request of the one who is undertaking it, is unprecedented," the CEF president said.

It is an understatement to say that Cardinal Ricard's confession has shaken up the bishop’s discussions. During the press conference, Archbishop de Moulins-Beaufort first discussed the Santier affair. He gave a chronologically precise account of what had happened and then pointed out the dysfunctions that delayed the disclosure of the sanctions that the Vatican imposed on Santier for committing "spiritual abuse for sexual purposes", according to the terms of the sentence.

During his closing address on Tuesday the CEF president was expected to present new measures adopted by the French bishops. This step is all the more important because, as painful as the Ricard and Santier scandals may be, there are also other abuse "cases" involving bishops.  

Eleven bishops implicated

"Today, there are six cases of bishops who have been implicated before the justice system of our country or before canonical justice, to which can now be added Bishop Santier and Cardinal Ricard,” said Archbishop de Moulins-Beaufort. “Two others, who are no longer in office, are being investigated by our country's justice system after reports made by a bishop and a canonical procedure."

Visibly affected by this list, the 60-year-old CEF president said there is also "a third (who) is the subject of a report to the prosecutor, to which no response has been given and for whom the Holy See has issued measures to restrict his ministry". He stressed that the figures relate to accusations and did not necessarily lead to convictions, noting that they cover "a great diversity of situations, of acts committed or attributed" to the bishops who’ve been accused.

Eight of the 11 prelates have been implicated for sexual abuse or its cover-up. Three of them have already been named publicly in the past (Jean-Michel Di Falco, Emmanuel Lafont and Hervé Gaschignard). Two have been prosecuted for non-reporting of sexual assault: Bishop André Fort was sentenced in 2018 to a reduced prison sentence of eight months, while Cardinal Philippe Barbarin was released in 2020. The other person on the list that was presented on Monday was Bishop Pierre Pican (d. 2018), who was convicted in 2000 for refusing to report abuse.

At the level of the universal Church, Cardinal Ricard would be the fourth member of the College of Cardinals implicated for acts of pedocriminality. The others were Austrian Cardinal Hans Hermann Groër (d. 2003), Scottish Cardinal Keith Patrick O'Brien (d. 2013) and Mr. Theodore McCarrick of the United States, who was removed from the clerical state in 2019. 

Further clarification on the need to communicate

This press conference, added at the last minute because of the "Ricard affair", allowed the president of the CEF to describe precisely the failures in the Santier affair, somewhat overshadowed by the cardinal's statement. What emerged from the four days of discussion was the need to reflect on communications in times of crisis.

"The reaction of the faithful to this affair (Santier) must lead us to make it clear that sanctions concerning a bishop, being a public figure and claiming to be so, should always be published," concluded Archbishop de Moulins-Beaufort. At the same time, the CEF president said it was vital to communicate more explicitly with Vatican officials. "The people of God in France are mature enough to deal with the news that one of their pastors has committed a fault," he said.

The members of the bishops’ conference were to vote on the means of communication on Tuesday, the final day of their plenary assembly. There is no doubt that this latest scandal, which implicates a cardinal, will lead to even more heated debate among French Catholics and reinforce their anger and incomprehension.