The diocese of Saint

In the case at hand, the priest accused is Father Pierre Jeanvoine, a priest appointed in 1948 as the director of the choir of the little singers of the Cross of Lorraine, within the Saint-Joseph institution, in Épinal.

After the testimony of a victim at the Inirr (National Independent Instance of Recognition and Reparation) targeting a priest passing through the Vosges in the 1960s, the diocese of Saint-Dié-des Vosges issued a call for possible identification of other victims, reports ICI Lorraine on Monday, March 16th.

The priest involved in this case is Father Pierre Jeanvoine, a priest appointed in 1948 as the director of the choir of the little singers of the Cross of Lorraine, within the Saint-Joseph institution, in Épinal. The acts of sexual assault reported by the victim concern the years 1966-1968. The clergyman then moved to Saint-Raphaël (Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon) in 1968, then to Antibes (Diocese of Nice) in 1975.

In a statement, the bishop of Saint-Dié, François Gourdon, and his counterparts from Fréjus-Toulon and Nice call on any other potential victims to come forward. “In a spirit of justice and truth, it is our duty to call on any victim who wishes to be heard and/or benefit from a process of recognition and reparation,” they write. Those concerned can contact the listening centers of the dioceses of Saint-Dié, Fréjus-Toulon, and Nice, or directly contact the Inirr, an entity established by the Catholic Church in 2021 to collect the voices of victims and offer processes of recognition and reparation.

“Regardless of the time that has passed, no violence, aggression, or abuse should be ignored, and no victim should be silenced. We strongly and decisively condemn such acts and express our support and deep compassion for the victims,” add the signatories of the statement.