Great Hypocrisy: The 'Scandal' Surrounding Abbé Pierre
But because he was a heretic and a salon socialist, the regime and its media protected and glorified him. The bishops, who faithfully serve the regime, did the same.
Already in a letter of 27 June 1958 to the Minister of the Civil Service, Edmond Michelet, who wanted to decorate Abbé Pierre, the then Archbishop of Paris, Cardinal Maurice Feltin (+1975), stated:
"I would like to assure you that this award is highly inappropriate at this time, because the person in question is seriously ill and is being treated in a psychiatric clinic in Switzerland, and I think that in these very distressing circumstances it would be better not to talk about this Abbé. He has had some good initiatives, but at the moment it seems better to keep quiet about him."
Born into a wealthy Catholic family of silk merchants, Abbé Pierre founded the Emmaus Movement in 1949, now a 'multi-denominational' social project dedicated to helping 'the poor', 'the homeless' and 'refugees'.
He was a hero in anti-Catholic France. Father Henri de Lubac, whom John Paul II made a Cardinal (sic), told him on the day of his ordination: "Ask the Holy Spirit to give you the same anti-clericalism of the saints".
Abbé Pierre supported the invalid ordination of women, the abolition of celibacy, homosexual propaganda and contraception.
In his book Mon Dieu... pourquoi? (God... why?, 2005), he openly admitted that he had broken his vow of celibacy by having casual sex with women.
Abbé Pierre was often honoured by the regime. For many years he was voted France's "most popular person" [whatever that means]. In 2005 he came third in a television poll to choose Le Plus Grand Français (The Greatest Frenchman).
In 1998, he was made a Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec, and in 2004 he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour by Jacques Chirac.
In 1991, he was awarded the Balzan Prize for Humanity, Peace and Fraternity among Peoples.
In July 2024, seven women (one of whom was allegedly a minor at the time) testified about the abuse [affair] they "suffered" at the hands of Abbé Pierre between the late 1970s and 2005.
Further allegations from several women were reported in September 2024, leading to the Abbé Pierre Foundation changing its name and Emmaus France voting to remove the priest's name from its logo.
There is evidence that many knew about Abbé Pierre's sexual behaviour, but he was protected by the regime's media.
Abbé Pierre's funeral on 26 January 2007 in the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris was attended by many dignitaries: President Jacques Chirac, former President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin.
Picture: Abbé Pierre © wikipedia, CC BY-SA, #newsGfheencvrm