Case against Cardinal Ricard dropped due to statute of limitations

Sexual violence in the Church: the investigation against Cardinal Ricard closed due to statute of limitations

The former Archbishop of Bordeaux had admitted last autumn to "reprehensible" behaviour with a teenage girl.

There will be no prosecution in France for Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard. While the former archbishop of Bordeaux admitted to "reprehensible" behaviour with a teenage girl in a letter to the Catholic hierarchy 35 years ago, the French justice system's investigation for "aggravated sexual assault" has been closed due to the statute of limitations, AFP reports. The revelations of the 78-year-old cardinal had caused an earthquake in the French church, which was already shaken by several cases of sexual abuse of minors.

"The procedure has been closed due to the statute of limitations," confirmed the prosecutor of the Republic of Marseille, Dominique Laurens. Retired since 2019 in a presbytery in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (south-east), Bishop Ricard was placed in custody on 2 February by the gendarmes of the investigation office of Marseille. In custody, he admitted the facts, denying any "sexual relationship", but having "kissed" the young girl, who was "in his memory aged 13, having embraced her and caressed her over her clothes".

Three years of abuse

He had also "asked for forgiveness" during his interrogation, then confronted with his victim. The former Archbishop of Bordeaux (2001 to 2019), President of the French Bishops' Conference (2001 to 2007), appointed cardinal in 2006 by Benedict XVI, had also acknowledged inappropriate gestures. According to the victim, the acts lasted three years and took place when Jean-Pierre Ricard was in Marseille and stopped after he changed parishes.

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"Thirty-five years ago, when I was a parish priest, I behaved in a reprehensible manner with a 14-year-old girl. My behaviour necessarily caused serious and lasting consequences for this person," wrote Mgr Ricard. In parallel, a Vatican investigation is ongoing, but in the event of a Conclave, the Cardinal has the right to vote. Archbishop Ricard is also a member of the powerful dicastery (the equivalent of a ministry in the government of the Holy See) for the Doctrine of the Faith, which deals with cases of sexual abuse of minors.

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