Pope says sex abuse is ‘demonic’ as he weighs in on new scandal in French church

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis called sexual abuse “demonic” on Friday as he weighed in on the latest sex assault revelations against a legendary French priest, Abbe Pierre, who devoted his life to advocating for the homeless.

Abbé Pierre, who died in 2007, was one of France’s most beloved public figures. The founder of the international Emmaus Community for the poor, Abbé Pierre had served as part of France’s conscience since the 1950s, when he persuaded Parliament to pass a law — still on the books — forbidding landlords to evict tenants during winter.

Emmaus International this week revealed that it had substantiated 17 more claims against its late founder, adding to the seven that were made public in July when it revealed the claims amounted to “sexual assault or sexual harassment.” The scandal set off outrage among French Catholics, for whom Abbe Pierre was a hero and icon.

Francis was asked during an in-flight press conference coming home from Asia about what the Vatican knew and when about Abbe Pierre, given reports that at least some people close to him knew of his impulsive sexual behavior.

Francis said he didn’t know when exactly the Holy See had learned about his abuse, but that it was after he had died.

He called Abbe Pierre a “terrible sinner” but that such a “shameful crime” was also the “human condition.”

“He’s a man who did so much good, but he’s also a sinner. We have to speak clearly about these things, and not hide them,” he said. “Abuse is in my judgment is something demonic, because every type of abuse destroys the dignity of the person.”

According to Emmaus, the new 17 cases involve women who reported behavior similar to that reported by the first seven victims, extending the abuse allegations from 1950s and 2000s. Their claims involved “unsolicited breast touching and forced kisses,” as well as repeated sexual contact with a vulnerable person, sexual penetration with an adult woman and sexual contact with a child, according to Emmaus.

The case of Abbe Pierre is the latest involving a revered, charismatic Catholic leader who turns out to have been a sexual predator. It is similar in some ways to the scandal involving another French icon, Jean Vanier, who founded the L’Arche movement to care for people with disabilities and was later found to have engaged in misconduct with adult women.

Francis had to confront a similar case during his visit to East Timor. Timorese Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo won the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent campaign for independence, but the Vatican revealed in 2022 that he had been sanctioned for sexually abusing young boys. Belo was allowed by St. John Paul II to retire quietly in 2002, and the Holy See has never revealed what it knew and when about his crimes.

Francis didn’t mention Belo by name while he was in East Timor, where Belo is still revered and many Timorese refuse to believe he was an abuser. But Francis did condemn “abuse” in general terms upon arrival in Dili.

Emmaus and the Abbe Pierre Foundation announced a series of steps to distance themselves from their founder, including changes to the foundation’s name and Emmaus logos and closing a memorial dedicated to the priest.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Pope Francis holds a news conference aboard the papal plane on his flight back after his 12-day journey across Southeast Asia and Oceania, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (Guglielmo Mangiapane/Pool Photo via AP)

Pope Francis attends a news conference aboard the papal plane on his flight back after his 12-day journey across Southeast Asia and Oceania, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (Guglielmo Mangiapane/Pool Photo via AP)

Pope Francis holds a news conference aboard the papal plane on his flight back after his 12-day journey across Southeast Asia and Oceania, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (Guglielmo Mangiapane/Pool Photo via AP)

Pope Francis attends a news conference aboard the papal plane on his flight back after his 12-day journey across Southeast Asia and Oceania, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (Guglielmo Mangiapane/Pool Photo via AP)

Pope Francis listens to Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni aboard the papal plane on his flight back after his 12-day journey across Southeast Asia and Oceania, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (Guglielmo Mangiapane/Pool Photo via AP)

Pope Francis holds a news conference aboard the papal plane on his flight back after his 12-day journey across Southeast Asia and Oceania, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (Guglielmo Mangiapane/Pool Photo via AP)

Pope Francis holds a news conference aboard the papal plane on his flight back after his 12-day journey across Southeast Asia and Oceania, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (Guglielmo Mangiapane/Pool Photo via AP)

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Islamic militants attacked a military training camp and the airport in Mali’s capital Tuesday, sparking deadly gunbattles before troops were able to subdue the assailants, officials said. No details of casualties were immediately released.

The militants tried to infiltrate the Faladie military police school in Bamako in a rare attack for the capital, prompting a sweep by government troops who later were able to “neutralize” the attackers, army Chief of Staff Oumar Diarra said on national TV, without elaborating.

The attack on the training camp caused “loss of life and material damage,” a security official told The Associated Press, but didn’t provide numbers or details. At least 15 suspects were arrested, said the official, who was inside the training camp at the time of the attack. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to talk to reporters.

Mali's army later confirmed that the militants also targeted the airport in their attack, in a statement read on national television in the evening. The airport was temporarily shut down, but resumed operations later in the day.

“This cowardly and perfidious attack led to some losses of life on the army’s side," the army statement said, confirming that trainees at the military training camp were killed but not saying how many.

The al-Qaida-linked militant group JNIM claimed responsibility for the attacks on its website Azallaq. Videos posted by JNIM on the site show fighters setting a plane at the airport on fire. The group claimed to have inflicted “major human and material losses."

An AP reporter heard two explosions in the area earlier Tuesday and saw smoke rise from a location on the outskirts of the city where the camp and airport are located.

Soon after the attacks, Mali’s authorities closed the airport, with Transport Ministry spokesman Mohamed Ould Mamouni saying flights were suspended because of the exchange of gunfire nearby. The airport reopened later in the day.

The U.S. Embassy in Bamako told its staff to remain at home and stay off the roads.

Mali, along with its neighbors Burkina Faso and Niger, has for more than a decade battled an insurgency fought by armed groups, including some allied with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Following military coups in all three nations in recent years, the ruling juntas have expelled French forces and turned to Russian mercenary units for security assistance instead.

Since taking power, Col. Assimi Goita has struggled to stave off growing attacks by the jihadis. Attacks in central and northern Mali are increasing. In July, approximately 50 Russian mercenaries in a convoy were killed in an al-Qaida ambush.

The mercenaries had been fighting mostly Tuareg rebels alongside Mali’s army when their convoy was forced to retreat into jihadi territory and ambushed south of the commune of Tinzaouaten.

Attacks in the capital of Bamako are rare, however.

“I think JNIM wanted to show they can also stage attacks in the south and in the capital, following the battle on the north near the Algeria border where Wagner suffered losses," said Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, which promotes democracy.

In 2022, gunmen struck a Malian army checkpoint about 60 kilometers (40 miles) outside the city, killing at least six people and wounding several others. In 2015, another al-Qaida linked extremist group killed at least 20 people, including one American, during an attack on a hotel in Bamako.

Tuesday’s attack is significant because it showed that JNIM has the ability to stage a large-scale attack, Wassim Nasr, a journalist and senior research fellow at the Soufan Center, told the AP.

It also shows that they are concentrating their efforts on military targets, rather than random attacks on civilian targets, he said.

Sam Mednick reported from Goma, Congo, and Banchereau from Dakar, Senegal.

This video grab shows Malian security personnel detaining a man after Mali's army said a military training camp in the capital Bamako has been attacked early Tuesday, Sept. 17 2024. (AP Photo)

FILE - Leader of Mali's ruling junta Lt. Col. Assimi Goita, center, attends an independence day military parade in Bamako, Mali on Sept. 22, 2022. (AP Photo, File)