The Catholic Institute of Paris launches a university degree dedicated to sexual abuse

A year after its publication, the shock wave of the report of the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (Ciase) continues to move the lines of the Catholic world. While the victims criticize the slowness of the process set up by the National Compensation and Reparation Authority, the president of the Selam fund, its financial arm, wants to defend the other side of its action: support for prevention. This week, at the time of this particular “anniversary”, one of the initiatives supported by the fund was born: the students of the brand new university diploma (DU) “Abuse and good treatment”, offered by the Catholic Institute of Paris (ICP), have made their comeback.

It is one of the teachers of the ICP, Joël Molinario, director of the Higher Institute of Catechetical Pastoral, who initiated this innovative training. This former member of the Sauvé Commission took part in some thirty meetings following the publication of the report, with representatives of listening cells and prevention commissions. “Most of them, whether doctors or social workers, complained that they did not have a global view on the subject of abuse, says Joel Molinario. We wanted to create a concrete, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary formation, in order to accompany them and to professionalize the practices in the parishes, the dioceses and the congregations. » The rector of the Catholic Institute, Father Emmanuel Petit, supported the project, wanting his university to contribute its stone to the building. “This training is aimed at all the actors in the life of the Church involved in pastoral care, details the latter, in parishes, dioceses, youth works, Catholic education. »

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In a few months, Joël Molinario and Fabienne Serina-Karsky, director of the Inclusive Education department at the ISP-Faculty of Education, have developed a program comprising eight two-day sessions. Psychology, psychoanalysis, victimology, preventive education, moral and spiritual theology, canon law, civil and penal… So many disciplines put into dialogue over lectures and workshops. A confrontation of approaches inspired by that of Jean-Marc Sauvé at the head of Ciase, favoring “a hard-hitting look”, according to Joël Molinario. Entitled “Abuse and well-treatment”, the diploma is supposed to deal with the question of abuse in the broad sense: sexual abuse, abuse of authority, of conscience. The term “abuse”, a bit nebulous, was immediately questioned by DU students this week. “We know very well that we are talking about sexual violence, decipher one of them. But it is the term used by the Church, and by the victims themselves. » The rector of the ICP believes for his part that the title reflects two ambitions of the training: “Enter into a better understanding of the mechanisms of abuse, to prevent and respond to them,” explains Father Emmanuel Petit. But also, beyond these drifts, to move towards a better overall functioning of the institutions. »

Twenty-five students

Opened in early July, registrations closed a month later, reflecting strong demand. “We will have to do more, but it is a positive sign that a movement is taking place in the Church, wants to believe Joël Molinario. Valuable people want to move from the stage of goodwill to a more professional look. » Twenty-five students were selected in order of registration from around forty applicants. A limited gauge to guarantee the quality of exchanges during the workshops. But from next year, the DU should welcome a dozen additional students

The pioneers display varied profiles – religious, lay people, deacons, aged between 30 and 70 – with a majority of women. “All have a strong, sometimes painful experience, within listening and prevention cells, in dioceses, congregations or in Catholic education”, explains Joël Molinario. Among them, we find a lawyer, a bishop of the diocese of Lausanne (Switzerland) or a student from Burundi, in charge of creating the listening and prevention cell of the episcopal conference of the country. What are their motivations? “After the Ciase report, which we accompanied the reception, I wanted to see what is proposed in terms of reflection and prevention on the issue of sexual violence in the Church”, explains Catherine Boulanger, member of the Catholic collective Agir pour notre Eglise, partner of this diploma. This 37-year-old Parisian mother, teacher and trainer by profession, also says “sensitive to affective and sexual education”. Committed to the life of the Church, she wanted “take part” and try “to make things happen” at his level.

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More will have to be done, but it is a positive sign that a movement is taking place in the Church

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Deacon Jean-Louis Reymondier, another student, comes from a diocese confronted with several cases of sexual violence committed by a priest and which according to him has “Prevention tools were put in place very early on”, that of Saint-Etienne. Diocesan delegate for the protection of minors and head of the antenna for the prevention and fight against sexual abuse, Jean-Louis Reymondier followed the training courses set up by the Conference of Bishops of France and participated in parish meetings around the publication of the Sauvé report. “I perceived how many people had not imagined this reality and that we had to work to do more and more to make the Church safer”explains the deacon, but also “Be more attentive to the mistreatment that children, young people and vulnerable people could suffer in their environment. » With this training, Jean-Louis Reymondier explains that he wants to deepen his knowledge and take the necessary distance “to better understand the phenomena of control, the favoring organizations, the vulnerabilities of the youngest and the deviant affective structure of the perpetrators”.

The rector of the ICP, Emmanuel Petit, hopes for his part to weave a “network of solidarity, of trained people, on which people confronted with these questions can rely”. “ It is necessary to break the loneliness and the weight of the decision. », he insists. The president of the Selam fund, Gilles Vermot-Desroches agrees. The challenge is to materialize, “far beyond the Church”everything that will allow “ implement additional prevention and understanding procedures. Training is key here. ».