French Catholic Church launches virtual identity document to reassure its faithful

The announcement has the effect of a small revolution within the Catholic Church. It is even a “change of culture in the Church”, declared Alexandre Joly, Bishop of Troyes.

After centuries of opacity, the French Episcopal Conference (CEF) has decided to enter the era of transparency, announcing on Wednesday May 10 that it will soon provide deacons, priests and bishops with a digital ID card.

The document, issued by the ecclesiastical authority and the size of a bank card, may certify that the holder is capable of celebrating mass and has the power to confess. In other words, that the Church member is not accused of sexual assault.

Scanning the QR code, the control tool will offer various data according to a color classification: a green band if the priest has no restrictions to celebrate or confess. Orange if you have restrictions. “The color orange does not necessarily mean that the owner is an abuser,” warned Monsignor Joly. He could also simply be a young priest, recently ordained and whose lack of experience still does not allow him to celebrate mass or confess. Finally, a red band if the incumbent can neither preach nor celebrate, for clerics who have been stripped of their clerical status, not to mention the nature of the sanction.

A paper version considered obsolete

This identity document for priests is not new. Until now, prelates have always had a ‘celebret’, a paper document that allowed them to justify their profession as priests. But the French bishops – who now consider this system “falsifiable (…) and difficult to update” – have opted for a digital version.

This new control system, decided by the bishops in 2021, is in line with the publication of the report of the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (CIAS). “It seemed essential to us to see what we could change (…) so that the Church is safe” in terms of prevention of sexual violence, the CEF spokesman, Alexandre Joly, explained at a press conference. This measure also intends to “respect” the “victims (who) cannot understand —with reason— that someone who has committed serious acts can (…) continue celebrating.”

“A good idea in the current context”

For Christine Pedotti, director of the weekly Témoignage Chrétien, “the ‘celebret’ has always been used by priests when they were away from home to show another priest that they could celebrate a mass, for example,” she explains. “But now it’s a more modern version that opens up a new feature: checking that the priest hasn’t been suspended. It’s a good idea in today’s context and should be quite useful.”

Because deficiencies in this area have been repeatedly denounced by victims’ associations. “The phenomenon of priests supposedly ‘giróvagos’, that is, suspended from their functions and who continue to present themselves as priests in religious communities, is a practice that is regularly observed”, says Christine Pedotti.

The most striking example is the case of the Philippe brothers. Marie-Dominique Philippe, convicted in 1957 by the Vatican for complicity in sexual assault, and her brother Thomas, were able to found or co-found various religious communities and associations without being bothered because Marie-Dominique’s conviction had been forgotten. .

“Currently, bishops are asked to direct several hundred priests without really giving them the means of control”, agrees Christine Pedotti.

“However, the episcopal term, which comes from the Greek ‘episcopos’, means ‘guardian’, ‘supervisor’. Therefore, it is high time that they have the tools of their time to carry out this control function that is assigns them.”

“The Church has fallen very low”

In the spirit of the device, it is not about asking the faithful to locate ecclesiastics at all costs by asking for their identity documents, but about having “a means of control exercised by another priest or a lay person in charge of a parish, in order to verify the legitimacy of each person”, continues the director of the publication. In addition, until now the vast majority of Catholics were unaware of the existence of this ‘celebret’. Therefore, there is little reason for them to order it now.

On the side of the associations of victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, the new system remains unconvincing. “It is a rather exceptional measure that, in my opinion, is among the three most stupid ideas of the Catholic Church,” says François Devaux, former president of La parole libérée, an association created in December 2015 in Lyon at the initiative of the victims of the chaplain scout of the diocese of Lyon, Bernard Preynat, who is at the origin of the resignation of Cardinal Philippe Barbarin.

“If we have to show QR codes of priests to reassure Catholics, it is because the Church has sunk very low. This is nothing more than a publicity stunt that shows to what extent the bond of trust between the faithful and their hierarchy has been broken. “continues the former leader of the association, overwhelmed by the announcement.

“This new ineptitude is a sign of the state of neglect of the Church, which has not understood the criticism that is made or does not want to understand it. In any case, this initiative is far from the measures recommended in the Ciase report”, concludes Devaux .

“Small resources are not enough to deal with the magnitude of the phenomenon”

Among the 45 recommendations issued by Ciase and made public on October 5, 2021, there is no mention of a possible digital identity card. “I agree with François Devaux that this initiative does not meet the commission’s requirements. This new device remains a small and insufficient means compared to the scale of the phenomenon”, added Christine Pedotti.

“In the report, it is rather a matter of giving more space to the laity, of a greater distribution of power. On these questions, the Church has not provided any solution and does not answer the only question: why do some priests believe they are God to the point of thinking that they can dispose of the bodies of others?”, says Pedotti.

Beyond the religious aspect, the measure also raises ethical questions. The idea of ​​mentioning the possible conviction of a person on an identity document has not failed to provoke reactions on social networks. Many netizens considered it a determination that leads to the restriction of freedoms.

One of many measures, says the Church

In the face of the attacks, the Church assures that this device is part of a broader set of measures aimed at fighting sexual crimes “to ensure that we are in a culture of clarity and good treatment,” he declared on Thursday in ‘RMC ‘ Mgr Rougé, Bishop of Nanterre. “The priority of priorities continues to be the accompaniment of the victims and the formation of the priests,” he said.

The French Episcopal Conference promises that all 18,000 priests and deacons will receive their QR code by the end of the year. The bishops are already equipped with them. At the same time, each diocese and religious congregation will annually update the data relating to its bishops, priests and deacons. The update will be immediate if a priest is subject to a civil or canonical sanction.

However, the Catholic Church is advancing because “it encourages more and more people to denounce it,” says the journalist. “Cases of aggression still occur, but now they are reported. The impunity situation is changing in France. The same cannot be said of Italy or Poland, for example. Much remains to be done on this issue in France and in the world.”

This article was adapted from its original in French.