“I like to repeat, here, on everyone’s behalf, that the French Bishops are driven by one will: to establish the truth for the victims. This is the priority that must inspire anything we do”. This was said in Brussels this morning by monsignor Georges Pontier, President of the French Bishops and archbishop of Marseille, as he opened the plenary meeting of the French Bishops. In his opening speech, archbishop Pontier mentions the investigation, started in Lyon, into the behaviour of a priest committed over twenty years ago and the potential responsibility of the ecclesiastic authorities. “Cardinal Barbarin – said Pontier – has clearly said that he and the diocese are willing to loyally cooperate with the legal authorities. I want him to be assured of our prayers and our friendship”. “This painful matter of the attitude of the Church towards paedophilia has been the focus of the major efforts we made at the last two meetings, here in Lourdes. Occasional, recent or older cases still appear in our dioceses every year. Our commitment is clear and it is shared by everyone: giving priority to meeting the victims and their families; inviting them to report; starting canonical proceedings against the people who committed such deeds, and cooperating with the legal authorities of our country in a perfectly loyal manner. The rules, the good practices and the preventative and educational measures we have taken are unequivocal”. As to this, the President of the French Bishops points out that the French Bishops Conference has set up an “observatory on paedophilia”, which keeps working to respond to any new case that could happen and “to help the bishops who want it, to meet and listen to the victims”.