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Behind these walls lie secrets

the Church hoped to keep hidden.

 

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Saint-Maurice Abbey,

is 1,500 years old.

 

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A Catholic mecca

occupied by canons

 

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who have taken a vow

of obedience and chastity.

 

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The Valais institution

has long escaped scandal,

 

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and seems to be immune to cases

of sexual abuse in the Church.

 

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And yet,

the victims are numerous,

 

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but no one has ever

believed their testimonies.

 

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Things are hushed up,

 

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victims are passed off

as crazy,

 

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to the point that

they dare not speak.

 

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So can we talk, because

it’s becoming a taboo subject?

 

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The entire image

of the Church is collapsing.

 

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By not talking about it, it doesn't exist.

 

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Our investigation reveals

that nine priests from Saint-Maurice

 

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are accused of sexual abuse

or pedocriminality.

 

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Cases are often ignored

and concealed by the hierarchy.

 

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We've been working for weeks to

uncover Saint-Maurice's secrets.

 

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We had to find victims,

court documents

 

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and convince sources

in the abbey to help us.

 

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We have identified nine priests

with business connections.

 

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Our investigation begins with a testimony

 

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of a victim

of a canon still in office.

 

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A priest from Saint-Maurice

 

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accused of sexually assaulting

a child in 2004.

 

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Mélanie Bonnard was 12 years old.

 

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It all happened in her living room.

 

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I was at home,

 

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my brother was being baptized.

 

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The priest was invited to eat.

 

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I walked past him,

he was on the couch.

 

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He took me with one arm,

and touched me with the other hand.

 

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He started to touch me on my chest.

 

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Actually, I had a blue top on,

so he put his hand in my top, then took it down,

 

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Then he reached under my skirt

and put his fingers in.

 

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I could feel his hard tip

and his fingers.

 

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He made me...

 

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he penetrated me with his hands.

 

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Well, foreplay, let's say it like that.

 

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At the age of 12,

did you understand what's going on?

 

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No, not at all.

 

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I remember

that I tried to scream,

 

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but I couldn't.

 

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It was as if I had become

voiceless at that moment.

 

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I couldn't speak, I couldn't.

 

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There was no sound coming out of my mouth.

 

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I don't know how,

 

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but I elbowed him in the lower abdomen

and that's when he let me go.

 

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At 12, she already has to convince her mother.

 

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Then she has to file a complaint.

 

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A psychiatrist commissioned by the courts

attests to the credibility of her testimony.

 

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The priest

refutes all accusations.

 

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Melanie's word is not believed

and the case is closed.

 

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In a police report,

the examining magistrate

 

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orders the inspectors

to limit their search,

 

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to prevent them from finding

other clues or victims.

 

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For Melanie, the investigation was botched

to protect the Church's image.

 

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I was dead inside.

 

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I didn't care how the events turned out.

 

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I had to actually

try to do justice,

 

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to try by any means to

make myself heard, to speak.

 

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Thanks to some friends,

I managed to film him without his knowledge.

 

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as I was so desperate to confront him with the facts.

 

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I confronted him.

 

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In 2016, she arranged

a meeting with the canon

 

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under the pretext of a confession.

 

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I had a camera hidden

in a car key. And I filmed it.

 

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Under a false name, she tells him

she was sexually abused.

 

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At first, she doesn't give

identity of her attacker.

 

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It was an acquaintance

who started to touch me, to touch my breasts,

 

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so for me, it's... I always have this image in my head

that he was the first man who touched me

 

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when I was a child, actually.

 

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I'm not a pyschologist, but

it doesn't seem too serious to me.

 

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I mean, there was no rape.

 

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I have to confess something to you.

 

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I lied to you.

 

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My name isn't Sarah.

Okay.

 

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I'm called Melanie Bonnard.

Okay.

 

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Does that not remind you?

No.

 

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You don't remember being invited to my family's house?

 

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To baptise my little brother?

 

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It's you.

 

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It's you.

You, precisely.

 

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You who touched me underneath my skirt.

This skirt here.

 

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This skirt!

 

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This skirt here.

Sorry?

 

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I was wearing this skirt here.

 

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I was 12 years old.

12 years old.

 

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When my whole family were in the living room,

you were doing wehat?

 

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You were touching me.

 

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You were touching my breasts,

and your hand was under my skirt on my knickers

 

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I felt that you were erect.

 

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I felt that. I didn't know what was happening to me,

because I was 12.

 

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I was a child.

 

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He doesn't answer

you at any point.

 

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No.

 

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What does he say next?

 

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It goes on the same after that.

 

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So I turned up the heat.

I called him a pedophile.

 

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And then after that, he started to not get angry.

 

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But he told me that I have no right to say that.

 

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I cut it short and left.

 

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He doesn't confess?

 

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No.

 

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We contacted the priest,

who did not wish to reply.

 

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The canon has always denied

the accusations.

 

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It should be pointed out that the courts

did not condemn him.

 

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The case was dismissed.

 

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Another Saint-Maurice case

concerns a second priest:

 

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a deceased canon.

 

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His victim was 5 years old.

 

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Dominique Mure suffered

repeated sexual abuse

 

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in the 60s.

 

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He took official steps with the

Church to have the abuse recognised.

 

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Today, Dominique is a man beaten down by life.

 

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As a child, I was abused

by my uncle, a canon.

 

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I think especially when I was most often at my grandmother's house.

 

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I used to run away from home, because

family history was hard.

 

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I would go to the barn, because we were farmers.

 

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He'd come there for two or three days...

 

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We were certainly talking about touching, penetration,

I don't know, but in any case touching

 

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The person I reported

was the family priest.

 

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The priest was the one

who knew everything.

 

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He represented the glorification

of the family in Catholicism.

 

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His memories are fragmented,

he was barely 5 years old.

 

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He lacks details and evidence.

 

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He was never able to confront

the canon, who died in 2003.

 

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Dominique requested access

to the Saint-Maurice archives

 

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to obtain the priest's file.

 

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Is this noted

in the archives?

 

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Yes, and there may be other victims

who filed there.

 

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But I don't know.

 

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Why are the other victims

important?

 

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If a victim submits more precise details,

it helps ro build a picture.

 

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The gathering of different people

can be evidence

 

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Dominique has an appointment

with the abbey archivist.

 

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Our camera remains outside.

 

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Inside, the exchange is polite

and lasts 30 minutes.

 

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Dominique obtains some documents

and details about the priest's life,

 

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but comes away empty-handed.

 

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Did he open the archives?

 

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No.

 

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But according to his statement,

he explained the contents to me.

 

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And there's an interesting discovery: he was an organiser

of concerts for young people.

 

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Interesting stuff.

 

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Any other victims?

 

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Potentially

 

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Dominique is not the only victim

looking for answers.

 

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We have collected

more testimonials.

 

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Often anonymous,

sometimes by mail or telephone.

 

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These testimonials have enabled us

to identify nine priests,

 

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all linked to cases of sexual abuse

or pedocriminality.

 

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Of these, only three

have been criminally convicted.

 

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This canon was arrested

by the police in 1999 and again in 2004

 

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for sharing

child pornography videos.

 

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This other priest

is also convicted.

 

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At the time of his first arrest,

 

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he receives a simple warning

from the police

 

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and continues to teach

at the Collège de Saint-Maurice.

 

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A missed opportunity, because he is caught again

three years later.

 

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The canon sexually abused

children throughout his life,

 

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except in Valais, according to the courts.

 

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Other canons

were not tried,

 

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but simply reported to the Church.

 

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This is the case of Dominique's priest,

 

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who was the subject

an official report.

 

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This is the case of another priest

 

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reported by a victims' associations.

 

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Apparently, he liked to take

girls to his room alone.

 

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A total of nine priests.

 

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Some still active,

others deceased.

 

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A figure that raises questions about the scale.

 

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One of the leading experts

teaches at the University of Lausanne.

 

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Josselin Tricou wrote the book

"Of Cassocks and Men".

 

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Certain places, such as Saint-Maurice,

concentrate all the factors facilitating abuse.

 

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A community with total power,

whose control is remote,

 

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with schools, better aill

boarding schools,

 

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where children are controlled

exclusively by priests.

 

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We have an explosive cocktail

where it's not surprising,

 

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statistically, to discover

many abuses.

 

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Saint-Maurice

is not just a monastery.

 

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There are parishes,

a former boarding school

 

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and a high school

with a canon as rector.

 

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It was precisely in the college,

in 1900 and ninety-seven,

 

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that an incident was

first publicised.

 

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Confirmation comes from

the Abbey of Saint-Maurice.

 

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A canon is indeed

in custody today.

 

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Long-time teacher at the college is

the suspected paedophile.

 

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The image of the abbey, however, recieves

limited damage.

 

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The case is presented as isolated and unique.

 

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Aware that the image

 

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of the congregation may suffer

from these accusations,

 

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the abbey will support him in its prayers.

 

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The Church's challenge was to keep

 

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the image of a holy, perfect, and

hierarchical institution,

 

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where men set apart and made sacred

had all power over the faithful.

 

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The challenge was to keep face

institutionally,

 

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that is to say to keep this image

of perfection than to manage individual cases.

 

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In Saint-Maurice, management refused

our request for an interview.

 

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By mail,

we are told that the abbey

 

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respects the Church's rules

regarding sexual abuse.

 

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An unsatisfactory response

for victims.

 

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Marie-Jo Aeby and Guilhem Lavignotte

are members of SAPEC,

 

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an association to help

for people abused in the church.

 

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Everyone says it and everyone knows it.

 

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Today, things are happening.

 

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Shame is no longer on the side

of the victims.

 

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It's on the side of the religious institutions.

 

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I think things are really changing at the moment.

 

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We have submitted to SAPEC

our list of priests

 

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involved in cases.

 

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This comes as no surprise to Marie-Jo Aeby.

 

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We're always talking about "isolated cases".

 

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It's a whole system!

 

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I hope that, in time,

we'll realise it.

 

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It's a system of abuse.

 

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What should happen

at the abbey?

 

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I don't know what,

but it's time to clean up.

 

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The truth has to be told.

 

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It's not possible

to go on like this.

 

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The leaders

of Saint-Maurice Abbey

 

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are chosen from among the canons,

 

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priests who answer only to the Vatican

or to God.

 

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These men must deal with

cases of paedocriminality

 

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and support victims.

 

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However, the top of the hierarchy

is involved in cases.

 

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Not only is Father Jean Scarcella

is accused of sexual abuse,

 

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but his replacement,

Roland Jaquenoud,

 

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is also

the subject of accusations.

 

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He allegedly abused a subordinate.

 

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The walls of secrecy

are cracking.

 

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00:16:41,620 --> 00:16:44,524

May God Almighty

have mercy on us.

 

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00:16:45,448 --> 00:16:50,555

May he forgive us our sins

and lead us to eternal life.

 

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00:17:00,820 --> 00:17:02,294

Good evening, Nicolas Betticher.

 

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00:17:02,733 --> 00:17:03,591

Good evening.

 

236

00:17:03,615 --> 00:17:06,340

You've alerted the Vatican...

 

237

00:17:06,620 --> 00:17:12,540

In September, Nicolas Betticher,

former vicar general

 

238

00:17:12,620 --> 00:17:16,860

of the Diocese of Fribourg

reported omerta in the Church.

 

239

00:17:18,584 --> 00:17:22,475

In a confidential letter,

he accuses members of the clergy,

 

240

00:17:23,414 --> 00:17:26,111

in particular Abbot Scarcella

of Saint-Maurice.

 

241

00:17:27,380 --> 00:17:29,731

This is file number one

of our survey.

 

242

00:17:30,089 --> 00:17:32,660

It's impossible for the abbey

to avoid scandal.

 

243

00:17:33,320 --> 00:17:36,159

Abbot Scarcella

is accused of sexual assault.

 

244

00:17:37,060 --> 00:17:40,088

Betticher's letter

is kept secret by the Church.

 

245

00:17:40,611 --> 00:17:43,640

But we managed to

obtain this document.

 

246

00:17:44,340 --> 00:17:47,233

We read the accusations

against Father Scarcella.

 

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00:18:05,980 --> 00:18:09,104

The document mentions

additional victims,

 

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00:18:09,129 --> 00:18:10,790

but no names are given.

 

249

00:18:11,048 --> 00:18:14,540

The Abbot did not wish

to give any details.

 

250

00:18:14,620 --> 00:18:16,513

He retired from his position

 

251

00:18:16,538 --> 00:18:18,848

during the internal investigation

within the Church.

 

252

00:18:22,751 --> 00:18:26,395

In the face of scandal, the Catholic

Church makes promises.

 

253

00:18:27,014 --> 00:18:29,820

The same week as the withdrawal

of Abboy Scarcella,

 

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00:18:29,900 --> 00:18:33,060

the Bishops' Conference

presents results

 

255

00:18:33,085 --> 00:18:34,278

of a study on sexual abuse.

 

256

00:18:34,726 --> 00:18:38,555

A study entrusted to the

University of Zurich by the Swiss bishops.

 

257

00:18:40,473 --> 00:18:44,587

It is difficult to admit that fundamental,

poorly understood features,

 

258

00:18:44,628 --> 00:18:50,348

of the Catholic Church

allowed and encouraged abuses.

 

259

00:18:52,155 --> 00:18:54,275

The Church acknowledges errors

 

260

00:18:54,300 --> 00:18:56,505

and asks forgiveness

to the many victims.

 

261

00:18:57,180 --> 00:19:01,666

In the future, they would be listened to

and abusive priests punished.

 

262

00:19:02,420 --> 00:19:04,500

The Church would have changed.

 

263

00:19:07,750 --> 00:19:10,795

However,

the direction of Saint-Maurice

 

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00:19:10,820 --> 00:19:13,110

is entrusted to Roland Jaquenoud.

 

265

00:19:15,204 --> 00:19:18,664

He holds the prestigious position of Prior at the abbey.

 

266

00:19:20,896 --> 00:19:24,599

Let us acclaim the word of God.

 

267

00:19:25,235 --> 00:19:27,835

To reassure the faithful,

 

268

00:19:27,860 --> 00:19:31,260

he publishes this message

on the abbey's website.

 

269

00:19:53,419 --> 00:19:57,554

We didn't stop

at these fine words.

 

270

00:19:57,917 --> 00:20:02,769

It was not easy, but we tracked

down former canons.

 

271

00:20:04,702 --> 00:20:06,683

They all say the same thing:

 

272

00:20:06,708 --> 00:20:09,867

Roland Jaquenoud,

then head of training,

 

273

00:20:09,892 --> 00:20:14,199

took advantage of the vulnerability

of an aspiring priest

 

274

00:20:14,224 --> 00:20:17,116

to obtain sexual intercourse.

 

275

00:20:19,239 --> 00:20:22,037

A former priest

accepted an interview.

 

276

00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:34,671

Roland Jaquenoud has been accused of having sexual relations with juniors.

 

277

00:20:35,634 --> 00:20:39,803

Simply imagining abuse is already difficult.

 

278

00:20:39,828 --> 00:20:47,129

But on top of that, reporting abuse calls

into question the entire church,

 

279

00:20:48,688 --> 00:20:51,875

and it remains to be somehting difficult,

 

280

00:20:51,900 --> 00:20:56,620

because every Sunday at mass,

we say 'I believe in the church'.

 

281

00:20:56,645 --> 00:20:58,829

The abbey is trying

to hush up the affair,

 

282

00:20:58,854 --> 00:21:01,290

but a novice alerts the Vatican.

 

283

00:21:02,369 --> 00:21:07,865

There was a report made, and then Rome mandated this Benedictine Abbot

 

284

00:21:07,890 --> 00:21:12,438

to come and equete. What we call a canonical visitation, in fact.

 

285

00:21:14,608 --> 00:21:17,294

Roland Jaquenoud

is not brought to justice.

 

286

00:21:17,319 --> 00:21:19,239

He is moved abroad.

 

287

00:21:19,973 --> 00:21:24,000

The scandal is avoided, the secret

remains within the abbey walls.

 

288

00:21:26,526 --> 00:21:31,344

I think it was the practice at the time.

 

289

00:21:33,220 --> 00:21:38,040

Generally speaking at the Abbey, it was in any case, a climate,

 

290

00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:41,280

in my opinion, with hindsight and from the outside

 

291

00:21:41,352 --> 00:21:46,512

which was very favorable to abuse because

 

292

00:21:46,537 --> 00:21:51,142

there was little respect for people

 

293

00:21:56,945 --> 00:22:00,625

Officially,

Roland Jaquenoud's move

 

294

00:22:00,650 --> 00:22:02,117

is not linked

to a case of sexual abuse.

 

295

00:22:02,492 --> 00:22:05,997

It's a voluntary departure

to Kazakhstan.

 

296

00:22:06,849 --> 00:22:12,131

A call of faith

in a former USSR country

 

297

00:22:12,327 --> 00:22:15,092

to the Christian community

community.

 

298

00:22:16,406 --> 00:22:19,155

Roland Jaquenoud leaves to teach

theology courses

 

299

00:22:19,180 --> 00:22:23,914

in small provincial towns,

before moving on to the capital, Astana.

 

300

00:22:31,577 --> 00:22:32,901

For our survey,

 

301

00:22:32,926 --> 00:22:35,795

we asked for help

from Guilhem Lavignotte,

 

302

00:22:36,261 --> 00:22:40,421

member of the SAPEC association

which supports victims of abuse.

 

303

00:22:41,095 --> 00:22:43,027

He knows Saint-Maurice very well.

 

304

00:22:43,197 --> 00:22:46,785

Carillonneur by profession,

he often played there.

 

305

00:22:48,630 --> 00:22:52,441

This bond of trust enabled him

to gather testimonials.

 

306

00:22:56,380 --> 00:22:58,460

A victim told me

 

307

00:22:58,900 --> 00:23:04,271

that after sexual misconduct

by the novice master,

 

308

00:23:04,459 --> 00:23:06,980

He had complained to Rome

by writing a letter.

 

309

00:23:08,161 --> 00:23:11,547

In the Jaquenoud case,

master of novices at the time,

 

310

00:23:11,572 --> 00:23:15,215

witnesses and the victim

were punished.

 

311

00:23:15,936 --> 00:23:19,686

Novices left Saint-Maurice

and never became priests.

 

312

00:23:21,180 --> 00:23:23,780

Roland Jaquenoud returned in 2015

 

313

00:23:23,805 --> 00:23:25,973

to take up the post of prior

at Saint-Maurice.

 

314

00:23:26,784 --> 00:23:30,835

In September 2023,

he replaces Father Scarcella.

 

315

00:23:31,961 --> 00:23:34,055

This is immense hypocrisy.

 

316

00:23:34,104 --> 00:23:37,877

Just imagine:

the abbot, who is under investigation.

 

317

00:23:38,285 --> 00:23:40,560

He benefits from presumption of innocence.

 

318

00:23:40,851 --> 00:23:43,705

During the investigation,

he puts someone in his place

 

319

00:23:43,807 --> 00:23:47,893

 he knows for a fact was in trouble a few years ago.

 

320

00:23:48,433 --> 00:23:53,476

The schizophrenic behavior

of the institution is demonstrated!

 

321

00:23:57,261 --> 00:24:00,189

The return of Roland Jaquenoud

as the head of the Abbey

 

322

00:24:00,214 --> 00:24:00,970

raises questions.

 

323

00:24:02,423 --> 00:24:07,513

According to a former canon,

even the Pope knew about it.

 

324

00:24:21,430 --> 00:24:24,950

The late John Paul II

would have made this check

 

325

00:24:24,975 --> 00:24:27,519

in the presence of several members

of the Bishops' Conference.

 

326

00:24:31,780 --> 00:24:34,500

For victims' associations,

 

327

00:24:34,525 --> 00:24:37,585

this is further proof

of the law of silence in the Church.

 

328

00:24:38,122 --> 00:24:41,687

The trust is broken

with the management of Saint-Maurice.

 

329

00:24:41,712 --> 00:24:44,570

But how do they think this will happen?

 

330

00:24:44,833 --> 00:24:47,233

It's like giving the stick to be beaten with.

 

331

00:24:47,887 --> 00:24:49,063

When we became aware

 

332

00:24:49,088 --> 00:24:49,748

of what was happening,

 

333

00:24:49,773 --> 00:24:51,420

we were horrified.

 

334

00:24:51,445 --> 00:24:54,482

This is not the image

we had of Saint-Maurice.

 

335

00:24:54,675 --> 00:25:00,583

We had contacts, notably with Mr Scarcella, who was very friendly.

 

336

00:25:00,812 --> 00:25:05,326

In October 2022,

when I reported a case to him,

 

337

00:25:05,647 --> 00:25:13,445

he kindly replied that there was

there was nothing in the archives.

 

338

00:25:13,789 --> 00:25:15,268

I was naive at the time,

 

339

00:25:15,292 --> 00:25:19,788

I did not realize to what extent everything

that could have been in the archives

 

340

00:25:19,812 --> 00:25:22,221

and that could harm the image of

the institution was destroyed.

 

341

00:25:24,935 --> 00:25:27,263

How many victims

were not listened to?

 

342

00:25:27,606 --> 00:25:30,106

How many cases were covered up?

 

343

00:25:32,164 --> 00:25:34,629

Faced with the questions raised by our investigation,

 

344

00:25:34,653 --> 00:25:37,128

religious authorities

remained silent.

 

345

00:25:39,839 --> 00:25:43,457

When contacted, none of the

Saint-Maurice management

 

346

00:25:43,482 --> 00:25:46,162

wished to speak.

 

347

00:25:46,268 --> 00:25:49,738

The Swiss Bishops' Conference

also declined to be interviewed.

 

348

00:25:51,472 --> 00:25:55,652

The Vatican was also contacted,

but did not respond.