Abbé Pierre accused: “Of the great perverts…”, this youthful letter which resonates very heavily

Accused by many women of sexual assault in recent months, Father Pierre, who died in 2007, has seen his public image shattered. However, a letter recently unearthed by Le Monde could shed light on the actions of Emmaüs co-founder.

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IN BRIEF

• Abbé Pierre, co-founder of Emmaüs, who died in 2007, is accused of sexual assault by 24 women, revelations published in July 2024.
• A 1932 letter exhumed by Le Monde reveals that Henri Grouès, alias Abbé Pierre, was allegedly abused at the age of seven at Lyon.
• Discover how these shocking revelations redefine Abbé Pierre's legacy and raise questions about his past.

Co-founder of Emmaüs. Abbé Pierre was mainly known during his lifetime for his fight for housing for all. When he died in 2007, the man of the church was then one of the French people's favorite personalities. However, his public image has been tarnished forever. Following recent accusations of sexual assault and harassment made against him.

Indeed, no fewer than seven women have pointed out the inappropriate behavior of Abbé Pierre &à their &;regard in a report by Emmaüs published in July 2024. Following these first revelations, testimonies against the clergyman multiplied. In total, 24 women denounced acts of sexual assault. Some of them were still minors when they crossed paths with the co-founder of Emmaüs.

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A letter dating from 1932 was exhumed by the newspaper Le Monde

“Abbé Pierre is behind his desk, he says to me: 'Here, come and sit there', he shows me his knee. I have no apprehension, for me, he's a little grandpa, so I go. Very quickly, he says to me: 'I'm sure your little panties match your dress'. He puts his hand between my thighs, andhe presses very hard on my private parts, and I feel his erect penis”, one of these women had first revealed to the microphone of the show C à vous on France 5.

“He comes up to me, he presses my chest and says: 'Pouet pouet! So, çit pushes ?'. He takes me by the jaw, he sticks out his tongue, he puts it in my mouth. I try to struggle, I take his hands away, and then, he stops, and he says to me 'Okay, go sit over there'”, she also added. However, this affair has just taken a new turn. In fact, the newspaper Le Monde has exhumed a letter on Friday, December 13, 2024.

Abbé Pierre was allegedly the victim of abuse during his childhood in Lyon

Its content could shed light on the problematic actions of Abbé Pierre. In this famous letter, dating from 1932, Henri Grouès, his real name, addresses his master of novices, Louis-Antoine de Clermont-Ferrand, just after entering at the Capuchins. He then reveals to her that he was abused for two months, at the age of seven, when he was a boarder at the Notre-Dame des Minimes college, in Lyon.

“Some big perverts take me on. For two months, under the threat of a pistol, I become their game”, he writes in this letter. He then indicates that he fled the college to return home. “When, afterwards, I went back to the Minimes, the big ones forgot me“, he also specified. His attackers were then allegedly “sent back to great scandal” after having been surprised with another victim.