Archbishop promoting abuser as Chancellor of his Diocese already displayed shocking indifference to sexual abuse in his previous Diocese of Grenoble

Paedophilia: "What more could we have done?", says former Bishop of Grenoble, Guy de Kerimel.

Father Ribes was known as "The Picasso of Churches"

Unlike Rupnik's work, his stained glass was taken down

The former Bishop of Grenoble, Guy de Kerimel, was alerted by a victim of Father Ribes in 2016. But no internal investigation No serious investigation had been conducted.

It was in 2016 that a victim of Father Louis Ribes contacted the diocese of Grenoble. The man was received by the Vicar General, Joseph Antin, now deceased. The bishop was informed of the report. "This person wanted to recover photos that Father Ribes had taken of him, to destroy them," recalls Guy de Kerimel.

When asked, "Do you understand that the complainant is talking about sexual assault?", Guy de Kerimel says he no longer remembers much. But as our conversation progressed, the story came back to him. And he confirmed that "the gentleman told me there were other children."

Nothing in the archives, case closed

The Diocese of Grenoble found nothing in its archives. It contacted the diocese of Lyon. Nothing. It was 2016, the beginning of the Bernard Preynat affair. The Archbishop of Lyon, Philippe Barbarin, was embroiled in this pedophilia case, which would also lead him to appear in court.

I then asked Guy de Kerimel, "Why doesn't the Church open an internal investigation since it has a Church justice system and the means to conduct investigations?"

The response was disconcerting: "You have nothing else to do but dig into these things." My question irritates Guy de Kerimel, who explains that once the archives have been verified, he doesn't really see what more can be done. However, he adds that that year he set up a victims' support unit in the diocese and that "we can't force people to testify."

"Perhaps there wasn't a desire to provide fresh evidence, but he (the seminary superior) allowed himself to be drawn into some highly dubious affairs."

Guy de Kerimel, former Bishop of Grenoble, recently appointed Archbishop of Toulouse

The former Bishop of Grenoble, recently appointed Archbishop of Toulouse, says he is convinced that the superior of the Vienne-Estressin seminary for the elderly, in Isère, where Louis Ribes officiated, was aware. And he turned a blind eye. "It's impossible that it didn't get out. There was an attempt to cover it up." But you know, at that time, the newspaper Libération was also promoting pedophilia."

I don't really see the connection with this case, and what about the moral authority of the Church?

My last question further irritates the former Bishop of Grenoble: "A religious leader who picks up a child to bring them to a predatory priest, that has a name: is it pimping?" The Bishop's response is scathing: "I wouldn't have used that term. Perhaps there wasn't a desire to provide fresh meat, but the superiors allowed themselves to be drawn into some highly questionable affairs. It's difficult to put oneself in their shoes."

Highly questionable affairs? Perhaps the term "criminal" would be more appropriate. The conversation ends.

Guy de Kerimel, currently in Toulouse, will not be able to attend the public meeting on the Father Ribes case organized by the diocese of Grenoble on Thursday evening, January 27, because, "as in all dioceses in France, there are also current affairs to be dealt with in Toulouse."

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