New abuse allegations against Emmaus founder Abbé Pierre prompt organization name change

CNA Staff, Sep 10, 2024 / 14:50 pm (CNA).

A foundation that supports a prominent Catholic movement in France is changing its name after revealing nearly 20 fresh abuse allegations against the famed Abbé Pierre, a formerly beloved Capuchin priest who died in 2007. 

A Sept. 6 statement released by Emmaus International, a solidarity movement with over 400 member associations that seeks to combat poverty and homelessness worldwide, detailed new allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct by Pierre, who founded the movement in 1949.

A previous July 17 report from Emmaus had detailed allegations involving at least seven victims, including one who was a minor at the time of her alleged assault. Emmaus France said it first received a report from a woman accusing Pierre of sexual assault in 2023.

The group said it commissioned consulting firm Groupe Egaé to set up a system to allow additional alleged victims to come forward. Since then, Groupe Egaé said, at least 17 additional victims have come forward alleging “sexual violence committed by Abbé Pierre against girls and women.”

In light of the allegations against its founder, the Abbé Pierre Foundation, which provided nearly 4 million euros (about $4.4 million) in funding to Emmaus in 2023, has “decided to change its name and has begun the necessary paperwork,” Emmaus International said last week. 

In addition to the foundation name change, the Emmaus France board will submit a proposal for the removal of “Abbé Pierre, founder” from its logo at an extraordinary general assembly that will take place in December. 

A museum and cultural center at the house where Pierre lived in Esteville, France, meanwhile, will “remain closed for good” while discussions take place about what to do with it. 

Finally, the group said, a panel of independent experts will be commissioned to “apprehend and explain the flaws in the movement that allowed Abbé Pierre to behave as he did for more than 50 years.”

“Our movement knows what it owes to Abbé Pierre. He inspired our organizations and led them for many years. He was a tireless advocate who sparked waves of solidarity. He is a historic figure for the significance of his actions for good,” Emmaus International said in its statement. 

“Now, we must also confront the unacceptable suffering that he forced upon others. We must take decisions: first, out of respect for the victims who spoke up; but also for the volunteers, employees, and companions of the Emmaus movement, as well as its supporters and donors. Their daily work for the movement, which is both invaluable and necessary, would be profoundly tarnished if nothing changed.”

Groupe Egaé’s full report, dated Sept. 4, details allegations of Pierre’s forcible touching, rape, sexual remarks, and other sexual contact with adult women and with children. (Warning: The full report contains explicit descriptions of abuse.) The allegations received “took place between the 1950s and the early 2000s.” 

Most of the alleged incidents took place in France but also in the U.S., Belgium, Switzerland, and Morocco. The group also received tips from anonymous victims — whom they were unable to contact for follow-up information — about additional alleged abuse. 

Several victims told Groupe Egaé’ that “members of Abbé Pierre’s close circle would presumably have been informed of some of these acts.”

“We reaffirm today our full support of the victims. We commend their courage and thank them for their trust. We believe them and we stand with them,” Emmaus said in its Sept. 6 statement. 

The tipline email and phone number set up by Groupe Egaé in July will remain active and available through the end of 2024, Emmaus said. All victims will be offered a session with a psychologist specializing in psychological trauma, and “those who wish to speak with leaders of the Emmaus movement will be welcomed.”

Who was Abbé Pierre?

Prior to these recent allegations and findings, the Catholic priest and Capuchin friar, born Henri Groues in 1912, was one of the Church of France’s most beloved and iconic figures. 

After being part of the French Resistance in World War II, the priest took on the name “Abbé Pierre” as a cover for his work in manufacturing fake identity papers and helping Jews cross the French border into Switzerland.

Pierre was particularly applauded for his efforts to assist the homeless population in France, often raising large sums of money and persuading the French Parliament to pass laws acting on behalf of the homeless, including a 1950s law forbidding landlords from evicting tenants during the winter. This “Trêve Hivernale,” or “Winter Truce,” law still exists in France today.

Despite his popularity, Pierre faced other controversies before the most recent one of alleged sexual assaults. The priest faced public scrutiny in 1996 after defending a friend’s book, “Founding Myths of Israeli Politics,” which questioned the number of Jewish people killed by the Nazis in World War II.

In a 2005 book of interviews by Frederic Lenoir titled “My God… Why?” Pierre suggested he had broken his vow of celibacy by having sex as a younger man. Among other comments made in the book, Pierre expressed his support for married clergy and the ordination of women.

Pierre is the latest French founder of a well-known Catholic movement to face serious sexual and spiritual abuse allegations, with other recent notable examples being Jean Vanier, the founder of L’Arche, and Father Marie-Dominique Philippe, founder of the Brothers of St. John Community.