Catholic feminists blame abuse in French Church on 'patriarchal structure'

They published their statement in the French newspaper La Croix.

The report itself seems to confirm this reasoning, as it states that "a set of serious facts, which are not attributable to isolated individuals or occasional dysfunctions, but which are significant, persist over time, and have structural components."

The Sauvé report concludes that about 216,000 children were sexually abused by clergy, monks or nuns between 1950 and 2020. The number of victims rises to 330,000 when violence by laypersons, such as those teaching catechism classes, is included.

More in the church than in family

The number of victims declined until the early 1990s, but since then have stopped decreasing. According to the report, the Catholic Church is "the place where the prevalence of sexual violence is at its highest, other than in family and friend circles."

According to the Catholic feminists, sexual violence in the Catholic church is perpetrated mainly by males. For example, priests represent more than 72 per cent of the aggressors.

The patriarchal system leads to neglect of the victims, the feminists argue. According to them, the church was firstly and mainly concerned about the sins against chastity that the perpetrators committed by rape and sexual assault. In that sense, it favoured a small group's moral view on sexual questions: a minority of powerful men.

Build a new relationship

The feminists suggest that, among other subjects, the necessary strengthening of the position of the laity, the absence of a culture of checks and balances, and the over-concentration of power in the hands of bishops, should be investigated. These subjects are part of what makes the hierarchical structure of the Catholic Church. "It is up to us to build a renewed relationship to the Gospel […] and radically equal dignity of all the baptised."