Call for French bishops to "collectively resign" following sex abuse findings

Three leading reform-minded Catholics in France have launched an online appeal/petition calling for the en masse resignation of the country’s bishops in the wake of the recent devastating report on sexual abuse in the French Church.

“As a sign of hope and renewal, we ask for the collective resignation of all the bishops in office. It is the only gesture commensurate with the catastrophe and the loss of confidence in which we find ourselves,” says the “Appeal for a Renewed and Trustworthy Church”, which was posted Monday.

“Faced with this bankruptcy, the resignation of the bishops is the only honorable solution,” said Anne Soupa, a theologian and married mother of four adult children who “applied” last year to become Archbishop of Lyon.

She and two others are behind the petition drive.

They are François Devaux, co-founder of the abuse victims’ group “La Parole Libérée”, and Christine Pedotti, editorial director of the progressive Catholic magazine Témoignage Chrétien, who have joined Soupa in the effort. 

During its first 24 hours online, the appeal/petition had gathered nearly 3,200 signatures.

It comes six days after the October 5 publication of the devastating report by the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (CIASE).

Also known as the Sauvé Report, the massive document revealed that some 330,000 children and adolescents were victims of sexual violence in the Church in France between 1950 and 2020. 

It also chronicled the responsibility of the ecclesial institutions in these crimes.

"In any other association or company, resignation would have been demanded even for something 100 times less damaging. All the leaders would have had to resign," said Soupa.

"Undoubtedly, not all French bishops have covered up crimes, but the very structure of the Catholic hierarchy assumes continuity and solidarity between each bishop and his predecessor. As such, though not all are guilty, all are responsible," says the online petition.

There are precedents 

Currently there are just fewer than 120 actively serving bishops in France. The appeal says their en masse resignations would be a "sign of hope and renewal" and "the only action commensurate with the catastrophe". 

The petition says stepping down would also be "the first act of concrete, costly, repentance towards the victims".

"Moreover, it is the only way to make compensation for the victims possible, since the bankruptcy of the institution is also material," the three people behind the initiative said. 

"The faithful do not want to contribute for faults they have not committed. But in a restored Church in which all will be represented, this new solidarity and fraternity will make it possible to find the necessary financial resources," they insisted.

To support their demand, the three signatories point to two "precedents" in the Catholic Church. 

The first incident was the group resignation of the 34 Chilean bishops in May 2018 after they were directly challenged by Pope Francis for mishandling sexual abuse cases. The pope eventually accepted the resignation of seven of them. 

The second incident was when Cardinal Reinhard Marx tried to resign as archbishop of Munich last June 2021 in order to bring attention to "institutional or systemic failures" regarding pedocriminality in the Church. 

Francis, however, refused the cardinal’s resignation.

Call to appoint Dominican sister the pope’s “legate” to France

Pedotti, Soupa and Devaux have received support of Reverend Pierre Vignon, an expert on tackling sexual abuse in the Church. 

"What would have had panache and would have made an impression, would have been to collectively resign immediately," said Vignon, a priest who is known to be a straight-shooter and a bit of a maverick.  

"They (the bishops) can still do that at their next plenary assembly in Lourdes in November," he said.

Finally, the three signatories suggest that Pope Francis appoint Dominican Sister Veronique Margron as papal "legate" to the Church in France.  

Margron, who is currently the president of the Conference of Religious of France (Corref), is described as an "indisputable" figure in facing the abuse crisis.

In 2019 she published Un moment de vérité (A moment of truth) about this grave problem in the Church.

Margron said she was not involved in the online petition or that the signatories had suggested she be entrusted with any role. 

"The only thing that counts today is that the various authorities of the Church do everything possible to – finally -- give justice to the victims," she said.

"The time will come for the necessary reforms for both sides, with the expertise of the victims and of the entire Catholic Christian community," Margron added.

Meanwhile, Soupa’s involvement with the online appeal for the "collective resignation" of the French bishops is reminiscent of her media candidacy last year to succeed Cardinal Philippe Barbarin in Lyon. 

This move was intended to question the place of the laity, and of women in particular, in the governance of the Church -- and to make an impact. 

Soupa subsequently explained her decision this year in a book called Pour l'amour de Dieu (For the love of God).