abbé

More abuse allegations have been made against Abbé Pierre, the late French Roman Catholic priest and campaigner who was long venerated as a modern-day saint.

In July, the Emmaus anti-poverty charity which Abbé Pierre founded said it had heard allegations of sexual assault and harassment from seven women and it believed them.

Emmaus has now decided to expunge Abbé Pierre from the organisation after 17 more women spoke out about having suffered abuse at his hands.

Now, following a second release of witness statements gathered by Egaé, an independent consultancy, the movement has decided to remove Abbé Pierre’s name from its various organisations.

The Abbé Pierre Foundation is to be retitled, while the board of Emmaus France is to vote on removing the priest’s name from its logo.