Inirr takes stock after three years of support from victims

In October 2021, Jean-Marc Sauvé delivered the report of his commission on sexual abuse in the church. France then discovered the extent of the phenomenon: 330,000 victims since 1950, from at least 2,900 clerics.

Faced with this terrible observation, the Conference of Bishops of France reunited in plenary assembly on November 8, 2021 in Lourdes, launched the creation of an independent national body for recognition and repair (INSIRR).

After three years of operation, President Marie Derain de Vaucresson exhibited several figures at a press conference on Tuesday March 25: “At 24 March 2025, 1580 victims addressed the body and 1235 were accompanied by one of our 22 situation referents. The Inirr college has also made 852 decisions, 99 % of which have a financial dimension.

The testimony of a victim of Father Preynat accompanied by Inirr

Accompanied by Inirr since 2021, Gilles Tillet, a 53 -year -old screenwriter, raped at the age of 10 by Father Bernard Preynat, left traumatic amnesia the day before the verdict pronounced by the Lyon Criminal Court in March 2020. This priest was sentenced to 5 years in prison for having sexually assaulted children between 1972 and 1991 Scouts.

Coming from a demanding Catholic bourgeois environment, “where severity goes with it”, Gilles has experienced a painful journey: he was beneficiary of the RSA for 20 years and followed a psychoanalysis for 15 years. Thanks to Inirr, Gilles became aware of the extent of the rape he suffered.

Accompanied by a volunteer, his meeting with Archbishop Lagadec, auxiliary bishop of Lyon, was an important step. Gilles remembers having said to him: “You are a criminal sir, you covered the actions of my rapist”, then explains to the journalists: “It is not to him directly that I was addressing, but to all the bishops who covered the abuses of this priest. »»

If the fiftieth anniversary is expressed today, it is mainly to encourage the release of speech. He is delighted that the Betharram affair is finally revealed. “We do not imagine the courage of people. It’s incredible what it actually requires, but well done what! »»

Also according to the INRIRR report, 14% of sexual violence on minors took place in schools and 10% during a confession or a mass time. These abuses have serious and lasting consequences for the victims, according to the INIRR report. 29 % of supported people deplore a degraded emotional and relational life, 28 % indicate that they have developed a psychological disorder, and 23 % of the somatic effects.

Inirr also identifies a profile of the victims: 66 % are men, and their age today reaches 61 years on average. Half was between 11 and 15 years old at the time of the facts. For 52%, violence lasted “from one year to five years old”.

213 restorative procedures in 2024

Beyond the financial compensation supported by the CEF-within the limit of 60,000 euros-, the Inirr insists on the importance of restorative approaches: “60 % of supported people express the wish to initiate such an approach”, specifies Myriam Dubois, referent of the body. According to her, this path makes it possible to “go from traumatic memory to autobiographical memory”. In 2024, 213 approaches of this type were implemented, against 187 in 2023.

Compared to 2023, “the requests of the victims to talk about what they have experienced with their loved ones or their families have doubled,” says Marie Derain de Vaucresson, stressing the need to get out of the “silence that encloses”.

24 % of them also wanted to restore a dialogue or link with the church and 19 % wanted to receive a recognition letter. “Having professionals to support us is revolutionary,” concluded Gilles Tillet, applauded by the entire room at the end of the press conference.