FRANCE - Paedophilia cold case burns French clergy

A group of former scouts have broken the silence about the abuse they went through decades ago. They want the highest authorities of the French clergy to face up to their responsibilities. Bertrand and Pierre Emmanuel had nothing in common. That was until they discovered a few weeks ago that the same memories had marked their childhood behind the walls of the same church in the suburbs of Lyon in east-central France. “The priest who officiated here abused a lot of children, dozens and dozens in fact,” says Bertrand Virieux, one of the alleged victims. Several of the alleged victims spoke to euronews journalist Valerie Gauriat about the abuse: “What shocked me the most was when he tried to put his tongue in my mouth. He stroked my genitals, I couldn’t avoid it,” recalls Pierre-Emmanuel Germain-Thill. “I wanted to run away, and at the same time, I didn’t know what to do, I was afraid that if I left that room, nobody would believe me.” Bertrand Virieux: “I remember the smell of sweat, I remember contact with clothes. I remember his wandering hands under my shirt, which held me tightly against him.” Didier Burdet: “He used to put his leg behind me to block me and he rubbed against me; I remember that very well, I still have the sensation of his genitals against me. He would say “tell me you love me”. And then he would say ‘you’re my little boy’, ‘it’s our secret, you musn’t tell anyone’+. READ ARTICLE IN FULL CLICKING HERE! INC News, 19/02/2016 - source: ©Euronews/reporter