French Catholic church sex abuse: nearly 1,600 compensation claims since 2022

French independent abuse authority has compensated nearly 850 victims since 2021

Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. / Credit: Gabriele Maltinti/Shutterstock Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 26, 2025 / 15:15 pm (CNA). France’s National Independent Authority for Recognition and Reparation (INIRR) has compensated nearly 850 victims ... [...]

French independent abuse authority has compensated about 850 victims since 2021

Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. / Credit: Gabriele Maltinti/Shutterstock Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 26, 2025 / 15:15 pm (CNA). France’s National Independent Authority for Recognition and Reparation (INIRR) has compensated nearly 850 victims of clergy sex abuse since 2021, according to its latest report released on Wednesday. The annual report for 2024 states that since 2021, the organization has resolved 852 cases, with 99% involving financia…

Presented this Tuesday, the annual report of Inirr, one of the two commissions responsible for the compensation of victims of sexual violence in the church, confirms a recent increase in testimonies. However, in fact, only a minority of victims are bringing the case.

The case was "resumed in February", in a context marked by the Betharram case and the aftermath of the revelations about Abbé Pierre.

French Catholic church sex abuse: nearly 1,600 compensation claims since 2022

Nearly 1,600 victims of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church have approached the National Independent Instance for Recognition and Reparation (Inirr) since 2022, according to a report unveiled on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the Inirr, the Mechanism for the Recognition and Reparation of Victims of Abuse in the Church, took stock of three years of activity. Finding: there are still victims that manifest themselves, and the recent cases of Betharram and Abbé Peter have led to an increase in knowledge...