It is in his diocese of origin this time that our confrere Stéphane Joulain shares his expertise, much appreciated, with priests, religious and lay people involved in the diocese. The article below is taken from the newspaper “Ouest-France” of 22 March 2019. Its journalist, Thomas Heng, had been invited to the conferences and general assemblies. This post is reserved for Missionaries of Africa for copyright reasons.

170 priests and lay people flocked to a training session on Wednesday in Nantes on the struggle against sexual abuse. No conventional speeches. For Catholics, the emergency is declared.

On Tuesday, in Rome, Pope Francis refused the resignation of the Archbishop of Lyon, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, sentenced to a suspended six-month prison term for failure to denounce sexual assaults on minors.

A few hours later, 1,500 kilometres from the Vatican, 170 priests, deacons and lay missionaries participated in a day called “Let us fight together against paedophilia in the Church”, a sensitive and painful subject at the diocesan house in Nantes.

“Sexual abuse crisis”

The diocese, in a spirit of transparency, has accepted our presence. We were afraid of a certain “purring”. On the contrary, here, there is no tripping speeches, no oratory precautions, no convolutions.

Putting iron in the wound to empty the abscess of the “sexual abuse crisis”. The intervener from Rome, Stéphane Joulain, missionary priest, psychotherapist trained in criminology, knows how to do it. He is a specialist in the fight against paedophilia. “Solve the problem by allowing the priest to marry? Putting a woman in a pedophile’s bed has never solved the issue.” The tone is set.

“For many, he notes, the synonym of “priest” has become “paedophile”. The Church has been trying to resolve these issues since…. 3rd century.” At lunchtime, he says, “If you always apply the same solution to the same problem and hope to solve it, you’re not far from crazy.”

First, therefore, we must get rid of ancestral reflexes. “When a priest is implicated in sexual abuse, parishioners worry about his morale rather than about the victim,” laments one religious man. Let’s reverse the look. “Catholics are a little obsessed with… forgiveness”, sums up, lapidary, Stéphane Joulain. In other words, forgiveness is “a path”. Not an automatism.

A long way sometimes. We are listening to the story of this 87-year-old woman, who waited to see death coming, to finally be able to express her wounds. For eighty years, she carried alone the burden of an aggression from her first communion. A shadow rises, leaves the room in tears. “Things are coming up…”, slips a participant.

Talk, talk, talk. Stéphane Joulain is annoyed by another reflex observed in the parishes: the protection of the institution: “Sometimes, we transform the victim into an enemy! But the scandal comes from those who committed these abuses! Not by those who relay them.”

Last but not least, a question comes up in the room: “The media, they exaggerate, don’t they?” “Without the journalists, we would still be sweeping the dust under the carpet,” replies the speaker.

At the nicotine break, in the corridors, a priest from the south of Nantes clutches: “Sometimes, we worry more about the institution than about the Gospels.” Around him, A la Grâce de Dieu, François Ozon’s film, devoted to Father Preynat’s abuses, is making a lot of good talk.

Freeing up speech, the starting point

In the face of abuses, the Church would have been wrong to manage “individual situations”, a little like fuses, to protect the general building. “It was the theory of the rotten apple, isolated cases,” continues Stéphane Joulain. “But the current crisis reveals that there is something rotten in the basket. And even at the top of the basket.”

A way of saying that solutions require a collective awareness, the “supervision” of all, even if it means cutting back on the “trust” traditionally granted to each person. In short, a shared responsibility, including bishops.

But be careful not to buy words. Free speech is the starting point, not the arrival point. “If you think it’s over next year, you are getting completely mistaken!” warns Stéphane Joulain. “We must change, in depth. We must go through a phase of purification of the Church, learning to work with the victims.”

“It shakes their faith”

On the ground, it is ensured that the crisis does not divert the faithful from the Church. “But many, including some of the most solid, say that it shakes their faith,” admits the Vicar General, François Renaud.

In the audience, there is still concern about “the decrease in enrolment in summer camps or catechesis”. And, above all, of this “generalized suspicion” that weighs on priests.

After the observation, drafts of solutions

How can we “make the Church a safe place?” Stéphane Joulain invites us to improve the formation of priests. The duration of the training at the seminary is at least six years. “When a seminarian only wants to be in contact with children, without the ability to develop relationships with adults… Attention! »

In parishes, you should never let a rumour run around: “You must investigate and make the truth!”

Strict work is also required on the “premises”. “Closed rooms where no one can see anything from the outside should be banned. The same goes for catechesis: if an animator sticks posters on the windows, what does that mean?”

Until in the confessional, transparency and prudence prevail: “In Notre-Dame de Paris, the confession takes place in a glass aquarium. In the eyes of all. So what? It is a time when the person reveals his or her emotional vulnerability. Some may abuse this fragility.”

Thomas Heng,
Ouest-France du 22 mars 2019

Download here the pdf in French.