French cardinal accused of covering up child sex abuse acquitted by appeals court

Lawyer says decision is ‘logical’

File photo of Lyon archbishop cardinal Philippe Barbarin during his trial in Lyon, France, 7 January, 2019. (Jeff Pachoud/AFP via Getty Images)

France’s top Roman Catholic cleric has had his conviction for covering up child sex abuse overturned.

Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, archbishop of Lyon, was handed a six-month suspended prison sentence in March 2019 for failing to report a predator priest to police.

A Lyon court ruled that from July 2014 to June 2015 Mr Barbarin, 69, covered up allegations of sexual abuse of boy scouts in the 1980s and early 1990s by former French Catholic priest Bernard Preynat.

However Mr Barbarin denied the allegations and appealed the ruling.

He was acquitted by an appeals court in Lyon on Thursday.

The court at first gave no explanation for the acquittal but later released a 38-page document detailing the reasoning behind its decision, saying it found no “intentional element” to suggest a cover up.

Speaking outside the courtroom, Mr Barbarin's lawyer, Felix Luciani, said: “This decision is logical”, adding that the cardinal had faced down “public rumour and calumny”.

Pope Francis had refused to accept the cardinal’s decision to resign until the appeals process was complete.

Mr Barbarin previously said he filed an appeal because “I cannot see clearly what I am guilty of.”

Yves Sauvayre, a lawyer representing victims in the cover-up case against the cardinal, said they plan to appeal to France’s highest court.

Bernard Preynat is suspected of abusing about 75 boys but his testimony suggests the overall number could be even higher. That verdict is expected in March.

The case against Mr Barbarin hinged on a 2014 discussion with one victim, who told the cardinal about the sexual abuse he had suffered at the hands of Preynat during scout camps in the 1980s.

Barbarin told the appeal hearing that he followed Vatican instructions after that discussion.

He suggested he could not have done more.

At Preynat’s trial, victims testified about how much power the priest had held over them and the lifelong damage his abuse caused.

“I saw this community that admired this man, and I was his protege, his pet,” said one abuse victim, describing the court ruling as a “disappointment”.

Additional reporting by Associated Press