French bishops open archive on Abbé Pierre
September 13, 2024
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CWN Editor's Note: The French bishops’ conference has opened its archives on Abbé Pierre (1912-2007) to historians and journalists, following serious new charges of sexual abuse.
Archbishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort of Reims, the president of the episcopal conference, said that French cardinals “took note of the behavior” of the priest and sent him to Switzerland in the 1950s for a “psychiatric stay.”
Ordained to the priesthood in 1938, Abbé Pierre took part in the French resistance against the Nazis during World War II and was a member of the French parliament from 1945 to 1951. Known for his ministry to the poor and homeless, he became a beloved figure in France. He was also a critic of Catholic teaching on sexual morality.
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