Archbishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort delivers a speech at the French Bishops Conference on Nov. 8. Photo: Valentine Chapuis/AFP via Getty Images
France's Catholic Church announced on Monday it would financially compensate those who were sexually abused by French clergy and other church officials.
Driving the news: The decision comes a month after an independent commission, established at the request of the Catholic Church, released a report that found more than 200,000 minors have been sexually abused by Catholic clergy members in France since 1950.
- More than 100,000 children were abused by laypeople and others who worked for or were affiliated with the church.
- The commission found the church silenced victims and failed to report clergy members who were involved.
What they're saying: “We felt disgust and horror inside us when we realized how much suffering so many people had lived and were still living,” Bishops Conference president Eric de Moulins-Beaufort said in a speech on Monday according to AP.
- Moulins-Beaufort added that the church recognizes its “institutional responsibility” and will go “on a path of recognition and reparation that paves the way for victims to get the possibility of a mediation and a compensation,” according to AP.
- Moulins-Beaufort did not elaborate on the compensation amount. In a statement, the country's Bishops Conference said it would sell "real estate assets" in order to bolster the fund.