French Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, former president of the Bishops' Conference of France, has admitted to sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl 35 years ago.
The revelation was made in a letter from Cardinal Ricard read by Archbishop Éric de Moulins-Beaufort, Archbishop of Reims and President of the Bishops' Conference, during a press conference on abuse this November 7, during the plenary assembly of the French Bishops.
The Cardinal stated that the "**reprehensible**" act occurred when he was a priest, and he specified that his behavior "**necessarily had serious and lasting consequences for this person.**"
He stated that he had asked forgiveness from the woman and asked forgiveness from her family. He also said he would go on a retreat to pray.
"**It is a difficult process. But what comes first is the suffering experienced by the victims and the acknowledgment of the acts committed**," he declared.
"**Finally, I ask forgiveness from those I have hurt and who will experience this news as a true ordeal**," he added.
The Cardinal did not provide additional details.
He is a member of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican office responsible for investigating clergy accused of abuse.
Archbishop Moulins-Beaufort stated that the Cardinal is among the 11 bishops or former bishops who are or have been under investigation by ecclesiastical or judicial authorities for abuse.
Four days earlier, the Archbishop had reorganized the episcopal calendar to address abuse and had urged his fellow bishops to have as their primary concern "**the victims, those who spoke out two years ago and more recently, and those, perhaps, who have not yet come forward**."
The Archbishop was referring to the case of the retired Bishop of Créteil, Michel Santier. When the Vatican announced in 2021 that the Bishop was retiring, he stated it was for health reasons. No one publicly contradicted him until mid-October, when the Diocese of Créteil confirmed he had been credibly accused of sexual misconduct and sanctioned by the Vatican.
The Bishops, who were gathered in Lourdes, acknowledged the sense of betrayal felt by the people of the Diocese of Créteil, the Archbishop said, as well as "**the anger, shame, discouragement, and weariness of the most committed faithful, deacons, priests, seminarians**." These feelings, he added, "**are reaching an unprecedented level, undoubtedly unbearable for some.**"
"**We are all shaken, personally and in our apostolic authority in service to the Lord Jesus and the people of God, enduring collective criticism for a matter in which most of us have nothing to do**," he added.
The Vatican did not immediately say what disciplinary measures, if any, would be taken against Cardinal Ricard, aged 78, who retired in 2019 as Archbishop of Bordeaux. Possibilities range from an order to lead a life of prayer and penance out of public view to removal from the College of Cardinals or even from the priesthood, although the latter is typically a punishment reserved for serial abusers.
In the 1990s, Austrian Cardinal Hans Hermann Groër was forced to resign from his position as Archbishop of Vienna and renounce all public ministry following allegations of sexual abuse and harassment of seminarians and priests; he died in 2003 without undergoing a canonical trial.
Pope Benedict XVI forced Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien to step down from his position as Archbishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh in early 2013; after an investigation, Pope Francis stripped him of his "**rights and duties**" as a Cardinal, although he retained the title until his death in March 2018.
And, in the case of Theodore E. McCarrick, the former Cardinal and Archbishop of Washington, Pope Francis first suspended him from ministry and removed him from the College of Cardinals in 2018 after an investigation found "**credible and substantiated**" allegations of abuse.
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The Pope removed him from the priesthood in 2019 after a Vatican trial found him guilty of "**solicitation in the sacrament of confession and sins against the Sixth Commandment with minors and with adults, with the aggravating circumstance of the abuse of power.**"
This article was originally published in English by Uca News (Article link).