Founder of Emmaus accused by seven women of sexual assault and harassment

The founder of the Emmaus MovementAbbé Pierre (who died in 2007), a figure until now revered in France, has been accused by seven women of sexual assault and harassment between 1970 and 2005, the organization announced on Wednesday.

An independent report commissioned and released by the movement includes testimonies from seven women (workers or volunteers, one of whom was a minor at the time of the incident) who denounce these events.

The report originated after a year ago Emmaus France received testimony of a sexual assault committed by the Abbot Pierrewhich is why the organization commissioned an investigation to a specialized entity.

“This work made it possible to collect the testimonies of seven women who reported behaviour that could be considered as sexual assault or sexual harassment committed by Abbé Pierre between the late 1970s and 2005.″, says a statement from the Emmaus Movement.

One of these women was a minor (16 or 17 years old) at the time of the events. The report considers that “It is reasonable to think that there are other people affected, although in a number that is difficult to estimate.“, the statement added.

The victims reported inappropriate behaviour, sexual advances, repeated comments with sexual connotations, unsolicited attempts at physical contact and touching in sexual areas. One of them said she has suffered psychological problems since then.

The movement recognizes “the value of the people who have given their testimony”. “We believe them and we know that these intolerable acts have left their mark, and we are at their side.“, the sources stressed.

He also acknowledged that “These revelations are a shock to our structures.” and also ““They profoundly change the way we look at a man known above all for his fight against poverty, misery and exclusion.”

He Abbot Pierre (1912-2007), whose name was Joseph Henry Grouèswas a Catholic religious who founded the Emmaus Movement in 1949 (initially called ‘the Ragmen of Emmaus’) as a way of fighting poverty and social exclusion, especially of the homeless.

A key moment in her work was on February 1, 1954, when, in the midst of a cold wave in Paris, she went to a radio station to make an appeal to prevent homeless people from dying in the streets of the city. In a very short time, the donations and offers of help overwhelmed the management capacity.

Known as ‘the angel of the poor’, his movement has 303 active groups in France, as well as more than 400 in 40 other countries.

The French Episcopal Conference expressed its “pain“upon learning of the report and pointing out the victims”his deep compassion and shame that such acts could have been committed by a priest.”

He added in a statement that although Abbé Pierre had “a prominent impact” in “the awakening of consciences about the responsibility of everyone for people in precarious situations“, that image “cannot avoid the necessary work of truth that Emmaus has just carried out, with clarity and courage.”