European Commission wants to extend statute of limitations which would protect abusive priests and religious

Limoges: Complaint for "crimes against humanity" by Ozanam alumni dismissed

Former students of the private Catholic school Ozanam in Limoges had their complaint for "crimes against humanity" dismissed this Tuesday, July 1, by the Limoges public prosecutor. She believes that the statute of limitations has expired, according to our information.

Former students of the private Catholic institution Ozanam in Limoges, an offshoot of the Bétharram congregation until the 1970s, hoped to lift the statute of limitations when they filed a complaint last May for "crimes against humanity." The victims, who formed a collective, were received this Tuesday, July 1st, by the Limoges prosecutor, who indicated that, according to our information, they are not pursuing the complaints.

In addition, eight other individual complaints, including five from the collective, were filed between February and May for acts of corporal punishment, humiliation, fondling, and rape, dating back to the 1960s and 1970s against the religious congregation of the Betharram Fathers.

The statute of limitations has indeed expired.

The collective's efforts were not enough to lift the 30-year statute of limitations for acts of physical and sexual violence, rendering these complaints inadmissible for the prosecutor, who, according to our information, is relying on French law.

The collective highlighted the European Parliament's desire to remove the statute of limitations in cases of sexual violence against minors. A vote by MEPs on June 17th was largely in favor of this idea. The European Parliament will have to negotiate with the member states and the Commission, which intends to extend rather than eliminate the statute of limitations.

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