Kirchenakte Documented events from judgments, reports and church documents
1950-2020 · 70 years · show in timeline

Sexual violence in the Catholic Church in France 1950 to 2020 (CIASE Report)

The independent commission CIASE under Jean-Marc Sauvé estimates the number of minor victims of sexual violence by priests, deacons and members of religious orders in France between 1950 and 2020 at around 216,000, and at 330,000 if church lay people are included. It estimates the number of perpetrators from the clergy and religious orders at 2,900 to 3,200. Apart from family and friends, the Church was the environment with the highest prevalence of sexual violence against children. According to the commission, its attitude was long geared to protecting the institution, with no regard for the victims.

Period
1950-2020 (70 years)
Report published
5 October 2021
Country
France
Institutions
Catholic Church in France
Category
Sexual abuse, Cover-up
Level of evidence
A Primary source · what does this mean?

What happened to the people

Who was affected? Victims and numbers

  1. An estimated 216,000 or so minor victims of clerics and members of religious orders (population survey).
    Evidence: Commission indépendante sur les abus sexuels dans l'Église (CIASE), PDF-S. 3
    „the number of child victims who suffered at the hands of clergy and other religious workers is, in effect, estimated to be about 216 000“
    Sexual Violence in the Catholic Church. France 1950 – 2020. Summary of the Final Report, PDF-S. 3. Original · Archive copy
  2. Including church lay people (school staff, catechists, youth leaders), the estimate rises to 330,000.
    Evidence: Commission indépendante sur les abus sexuels dans l'Église (CIASE), PDF-S. 9
    „the estimated number of child victims rises to 330 000 for the whole of the period“
    Sexual Violence in the Catholic Church. France 1950 – 2020. Summary of the Final Report, PDF-S. 9. Original · Archive copy
  3. An estimated 2,900 to 3,200 perpetrators from the clergy and religious orders, according to the commission a lower limit.
    Evidence: Commission indépendante sur les abus sexuels dans l'Église (CIASE), PDF-S. 10
    „leads to an estimation of between 2900 and 3200 aggressors. This bracket constitutes a lower limit“
    Sexual Violence in the Catholic Church. France 1950 – 2020. Summary of the Final Report, PDF-S. 10. Original · Archive copy
  4. Most victims were prepubescent boys from all social classes. According to the commission, apart from family and friends the Catholic Church was the environment with by far the highest prevalence of sexual violence against children; the peak was the years 1950 to 1970.
    Evidence: Commission indépendante sur les abus sexuels dans l'Église (CIASE), Teil II, S. 8
    „The main characteristics to emerge from the study show that most of the victims were pre-adolescent boys from all social backgrounds.“
    Sexual Violence in the Catholic Church. France 1950 – 2020. Summary of the Final Report, Teil II, S. 8. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Commission indépendante sur les abus sexuels dans l'Église (CIASE), Teil II, S. 10
    „The Catholic Church is thus, with the exception of family and friendship circles, the environment in which the prevalence of sexual violence is by far the highest.“
    Sexual Violence in the Catholic Church. France 1950 – 2020. Summary of the Final Report, Teil II, S. 10. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Commission indépendante sur les abus sexuels dans l'Église (CIASE), Teil II, S. 7
    „1950-1970 can be described as the height of the abuse“
    Sexual Violence in the Catholic Church. France 1950 – 2020. Summary of the Final Report, Teil II, S. 7. Original · Archive copy

How were they charged and sentenced?

  1. According to CIASE, only from 2010 did the Church begin to report cases to the justice system and impose canon law penalties instead of dealing with perpetrators internally. For the study, 35 court files of convicted clerics were evaluated. Until then the Church as an institution had been convicted only for failure to report, not beyond that.
    Evidence: Commission indépendante sur les abus sexuels dans l'Église (CIASE), Teil III, S. 11
    „It was only from 2010 that the Church began to recognize victims when it started reporting cases to the judicial system, imposing canonical sanctions and accepted that dealing with perpetrators should no longer be an internal affair.“
    Sexual Violence in the Catholic Church. France 1950 – 2020. Summary of the Final Report, Teil III, S. 11. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Commission indépendante sur les abus sexuels dans l'Église (CIASE), Methode, S. 6
    „35 judicial files of ecclesiastics convicted for crimes falling within the scope of the Commission’s investigation“
    Sexual Violence in the Catholic Church. France 1950 – 2020. Summary of the Final Report, Methode, S. 6. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Commission indépendante sur les abus sexuels dans l'Église (CIASE), Teil IV, S. 13
    „based on an absence, to date, of any judicial conviction other than for the individual criminal responsibility of the perpetrators or for its failure to report cases to the legal system“
    Sexual Violence in the Catholic Church. France 1950 – 2020. Summary of the Final Report, Teil IV, S. 13. Original · Archive copy

What happened to those affected?

  1. The commission speaks of "lives ravaged by the assaults"; the trauma of the victims is compounded by the standing of the perpetrators. Many victims told the commission that money could not make up for the irreparable damage and, if badly executed, could feel like hush money.
    Evidence: Commission indépendante sur les abus sexuels dans l'Église (CIASE), Teil II, S. 7
    „Lives ravaged by the assaults.“
    Sexual Violence in the Catholic Church. France 1950 – 2020. Summary of the Final Report, Teil II, S. 7. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Commission indépendante sur les abus sexuels dans l'Église (CIASE), Teil II, S. 10
    „The trauma suffered by the victims is compounded by the perpetrator’s standing.“
    Sexual Violence in the Catholic Church. France 1950 – 2020. Summary of the Final Report, Teil II, S. 10. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Commission indépendante sur les abus sexuels dans l'Église (CIASE), Teil IV, S. 14
    „The Commission heard from many victims that money could not make up for the irreparable damage incurred, and worse, if badly executed, could feel like the price of silence.“
    Sexual Violence in the Catholic Church. France 1950 – 2020. Summary of the Final Report, Teil IV, S. 14. Original · Archive copy

Background

Course of events

  1. The report covers the years 1950 to 2020.
    Evidence: Commission indépendante sur les abus sexuels dans l'Église (CIASE), Titelseite
    „Sexual Violence in the Catholic Church France 1950 – 2020“
    Sexual Violence in the Catholic Church. France 1950 – 2020. Summary of the Final Report, Titelseite. Original · Archive copy
  2. The report was handed over on 5 October 2021.
    Evidence: Diocèse d'Angoulême, Titel
    „la CIASE remet son rapport ce mardi 5 octobre“
    Abus sexuels : la CIASE remet son rapport ce mardi 5 octobre, Titel. Original

Why? Justification and motives (according to the sources)

  1. According to the commission, the perpetrators used mechanisms of control linked to three pillars of the Church: the sacraments, vocation and charity. The phenomenon rests on numerous clearly systemic features; the trauma of the victims is compounded by the perpetrator's standing.
    Evidence: Commission indépendante sur les abus sexuels dans l'Église (CIASE), Teil II, S. 8
    „three control mechanisms which aligned themselves along three powerful tenants of the Catholic Church: the sacraments, a sense of vocation and charity or helping others.“
    Sexual Violence in the Catholic Church. France 1950 – 2020. Summary of the Final Report, Teil II, S. 8. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Commission indépendante sur les abus sexuels dans l'Église (CIASE), Teil II, S. 10
    „that is has decreased over time but is still present; that it is based on numerous clearly identified traits of a systemic nature. The trauma suffered by the victims is compounded by the perpetrator’s standing.“
    Sexual Violence in the Catholic Church. France 1950 – 2020. Summary of the Final Report, Teil II, S. 10. Original · Archive copy

Who received the assets, who profited?

  1. The commission called for individual financial reparation through a body independent of the Church. The fund should be financed from the assets of the perpetrators and of church institutions, expressly not from donations by the faithful. Many victims said that money could not make good the damage and, if badly implemented, could feel like the price of silence.
    Evidence: Commission indépendante sur les abus sexuels dans l'Église (CIASE), Teil IV, S. 14
    „The compensation mechanism should be entrusted to an independent body, exterior to the Church“
    Sexual Violence in the Catholic Church. France 1950 – 2020. Summary of the Final Report, Teil IV, S. 14. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Commission indépendante sur les abus sexuels dans l'Église (CIASE), Teil IV, S. 14
    „this fund should be replenished from the assets of the perpetrators and from those of the institutions belonging to the Church in France. It should exclude any appeal for donations from the faithful“
    Sexual Violence in the Catholic Church. France 1950 – 2020. Summary of the Final Report, Teil IV, S. 14. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Commission indépendante sur les abus sexuels dans l'Église (CIASE), Teil IV, S. 14
    „The Commission heard from many victims that money could not make up for the irreparable damage incurred, and worse, if badly executed, could feel like the price of silence.“
    Sexual Violence in the Catholic Church. France 1950 – 2020. Summary of the Final Report, Teil IV, S. 14. Original · Archive copy

Response of the Church

  1. According to the commission, the Church's attitude was too much geared to protecting the institution and for a long time showed no regard for the victims. The duty to report acts to the justice system, decided in 2000, was implemented slowly and unevenly in the dioceses; the Church's response was on the whole inadequate, often too late and only reactive.
    Evidence: Commission indépendante sur les abus sexuels dans l'Église (CIASE), Teil III, Überschrift, S. 10
    „TOO FOCUSED ON THE PROTECTION OF THE INSTITUTION, FOR A LONG TIME WITH NO REGARD FOR THE VICTIMS“
    Sexual Violence in the Catholic Church. France 1950 – 2020. Summary of the Final Report, Teil III, Überschrift, S. 10. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Commission indépendante sur les abus sexuels dans l'Église (CIASE), Teil III, S. 12
    „the response from the Church has been globally insufficient, has often come too late and only in reaction to events, or has been poorly applied.“
    Sexual Violence in the Catholic Church. France 1950 – 2020. Summary of the Final Report, Teil III, S. 12. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Commission indépendante sur les abus sexuels dans l'Église (CIASE), Teil III, S. 12
    „but was applied slowly and unevenly over different dioceses.“
    Sexual Violence in the Catholic Church. France 1950 – 2020. Summary of the Final Report, Teil III, S. 12. Original · Archive copy

Original documents to read

  1. Commission report
    Commission indépendante sur les abus sexuels dans l'Église (CIASE): Sexual Violence in the Catholic Church. France 1950 – 2020. Summary of the Final Report, 5 October 2021. Original · Archive copy (retrieved 10 Oct 2026)
  2. Church document
    Diocèse d'Angoulême: Abus sexuels : la CIASE remet son rapport ce mardi 5 octobre. Original (retrieved 10 Oct 2026)
Change log (5)

The change log is kept in German only.

  • : Aktualisiert: Englische Übersetzung
  • : Aktualisiert: Tatsachen
  • : Aktualisiert: Tatsachen
  • : Aktualisiert: Tatsachen, Zusammenfassung
  • : Aktualisiert: Tatsachen

Last changed on 22 October 2026. Is something missing or wrong? Suggest an addition or correction.