A French court has found top Catholic official Cardinal Philippe Barbarin guilty for failing to report to justice accusations against a pedophile priest.
In a surprise decision Thursday in France’s most important church sex abuse trial, the Lyon court handed Barbarin a six-month suspended prison sentence for not reporting the facts in the period between July 2014 and June 2015. The Rev. Bernard Preynat’s alleged victims said Barbarin and other church officials covered up for him for years, but the statute of limitations had expired on some charges and even the victims had expected that the cardinal would be acquitted.
The prosecutor had also argued against convicting, saying there were no grounds to prove legal wrongdoing.___A French court is expected to acquit a cardinal and five other defendants accused of protecting a pedophile priest at the end of France’s most important church sex abuse trial.The Rev. Bernard Preynat’s alleged victims said church hierarchy covered up for him for years.
Even the prosecutor argued against convicting Cardinal Philippe Barbarin and other church officials, saying there were no grounds to prove legal wrongdoing.The priest has confessed to abusing Boy Scouts in the 1970s and 80s and will be tried separately.
Do a R.Kelly/Michael Jackson style documentary on The criminal Church.
Bergolio should be next
wdlindsy 'Self appointed mediators' & those who claim to be 'followers of Christ' who are clearly following their own paths - need to stop deceiving themselves & everyone by masquerading as 'servants of God' - find some dignity, put down the bible & find another job!
A suspended sentence still sends the wrong message, this should have been custodial to set an example that the church is NOT above the law. Hopefully the paedophile priest will be judged more harshly and punished more appropriately. secularcitizen2
NAMB_SBC SouthernBaptist if you don’t really tackle the issue of sexual abuse, you will go down the same road
Shouldnt he have a charlie manson ash spot on his forhead?
Shut all the churches, that the flock may become better Christians, or even not literal bible believing Christians. Christianity is a distortion of the original books.
Is it bad that I expected something like this to be uncovered eventually?
Take the whole disgusting Catholic Church down. They all have had a hand in this. Evil runs up and down that Church.
No need to put “BREAKING” when referring to perophile priests. It’s expected at this point.
France's Gym Jordan
About time
LeavingHeavenland
he was found guilty, without punishment? that's some BS religious freedom doesn't mean they can operate their own quasi-govt & pseudo-law-enforcement all nations should require & church itself should publicly demand all criminal acts always be reported to real law enforcement
To the guillotine
That would be like enabling and harboring criminals, Cardinal.
I’m sorry but we should save time & shoot them all. These creeps backed by the Catholic church have ruined generations. The “church, um cult” should out them now & put this behind us.
Happy Lent.
Time to sin came earlier than we thought