Cardinal Philippe Barbarin offered his resignation Thursday to Pope Francis after a French court convicted him of failing to report a pedophile priest. Barbarin is the first cardinal to face trial on charges of covering up child sexual abuse. The Lyon court convicted him of covering up the crimes of Rev. Bernard Preynat, who recently confessed to abusing several boy scouts between 1970 and 1980, after an alleged victim, Alexandre Hezez, warned Barbarin of Preynat’s abuse several times beginning in 2014. Prosecutors said they suspect Preynat abused 85 young boys. Barbarin said after his conviction that he would meet with Francis to tender his resignation. (RELATED: Priests Who Father Children Should Leave Priesthood, Vatican Official Says) “I have decided to go and see the Holy Father to offer him my resignation,” Barbarin said, according to The Associated Press. He also said that he is keeping the alleged victims in his prayers and that he has “compassion” for them. The court ruled that Barbarin had an obligation to report Preynat to the authorities after Hezez informed him of the priest’s predatory behavior and warned him that there were probably other victims. Ecclesiastical privacy did not apply to Hezez’s report, since Hezez intended the information to be made public, according to the court. The court issued Barbarin a suspended sentence of six months but acquitted five other Catholic clerics named as defendants in the case. Jean-Felix Luciani, Barbarin’s lawyer, said that he will appeal the ruling and hopes for an acquittal. He argued that there was no evidence of legal wrongdoing on Barbarin’s part. “This is a decision that is not fair at the juridical level,” Luciani said. “We hope that at the next step, justice will be done,” he added. The ruling and the sentence came as a surprise, as Barbarin’s defense and some of Preynat’s victims expected the court to acquit him along with the other defendants, given the fact that the statute of limitations had passed on several of the allegations against Preynat. “Cardinal Barbarin never showed any doubt about the information,” the court’s opinion reads, according to AP. “Henceforth, Barbarin had the obligation to report these facts. He didn’t take the initiative despite Hezez’s request and insistence” the opinion adds. Victims advocates praised Barbarin’s unexpected conviction as a message to Catholic hierarchy that religious leaders will be held accountable for their failings. “We see that no one is above the law. We have been heard by the court,” said Francois Devaux, president of Lift the Burden of Silence. “The cardinal is convicted because he didn’t do what needed to be done,” he added, calling for church leaders to reevaluate how they deal with abuse in sacred places. Anne Barrett Doyle of Bishop Accountability, also hailed the conviction as positive affirmation of the victims and a rejection of excuses for church leaders’ failures to address abuse. “In affirming the victims’ claims, the French court implicitly rejected the grab bag of excuses that Barbarin and other Catholic bishops use to justify non-reporting,” Doyle said. As for Preynat, he faces a separate trial for 13 cases of alleged abuse for which the statute of limitations has not passed. Authorities have not yet set a date for his trial. Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.<doc-sep>Barbarin told the trial he had known of "rumours" as far back as 2010. But he said he became aware of the alleged abuse after a conversation with one of the victims in 2014. He informed the Vatican about the allegations, and removed Mr Preynat from his position a year later – but never informed police.<doc-sep>French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin said Thursday he will offer his resignation to Pope Francis, after a court found Barbarin guilty of failing to report allegations of sexual abuse of minors by a priest. In a surprise decision Thursday, the Lyon court handed the Roman Catholic archbishop of Lyon a six-month suspended prison sentence for not reporting the facts between July 2014 and June 2015. In a brief statement to media, Barbarin said, "I have decided to go and see the Holy Father to offer him my resignation." He said he will meet Pope Francis "in a few days" and expressed his "compassion" for victims. Barbarin is the highest-profile cleric to be caught up in the child sex abuse scandal inside the Catholic Church in France. Rev. Bernard Preynat's alleged victims said Barbarin and other church officials covered up for him for years, but the statute of limitations had expired on some charges and it was expected that the cardinal would be acquitted. The prosecutor had also argued against convicting, saying there were no grounds to prove legal wrongdoing. Preynat has confessed to abusing boy scouts in the 1970s and '80s and will be tried separately. Barbarin will appeal In the court's decision, read by The Associated Press, magistrates wrote Barbarin "had the obligation to report" accusations because the accusers didn't request the ecclesiastic secrecy. Alexandre Hezez, one of those who brought the case to trial, met Barbarin in November 2014 and kept informing him there were probably other victims. "Cardinal Barbarin never showed any doubt about the information," the court wrote. The Saint-Jean Cathedral, foreground, and the Fourvière Basilica, top, are pictured in Lyon. Barbarin is the highest-profile cleric to be caught up in the child sex abuse scandal inside the Catholic Church in France. (Laurent Cipriani/Associated Press) Barbarin was not at the court in Lyon for the verdict Thursday. His lawyer, Jean-Felix Luciani, said he will appeal. "This is a decision that is not fair at the juridical level," he said. "We hope that at the next step, justice will be done." The Vatican didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Nine people who said the priest abused them brought the case against Barbarin to court. "This is a victory that sends a strong signal to lots of victims and a signal to the church as well," said François Devaux, president of the association La Parole Libérée (Lift the Burden of Silence), a group of victims of Preynat. "We see that no one is above the law. We have been heard by the court. This is the end of a long path." The victims say top clergy had been aware of Preynat's actions since 1991, but allowed him to be in contact with children until his retirement in 2015. Yves Sauvayre, a lawyer for some of Preynat's alleged victims, called the verdict "historic." "The cardinal is convicted because he didn't do what needed to be done," he said. 5 others acquitted Five other defendants were acquitted. In addition to Barbarin, an archbishop, a bishop, a priest and two other officials had been on trial. Another top Catholic official, Cardinal Luis Ladaria, was among the accused, but didn't appear in court because the Vatican invoked his diplomatic immunity. In emotional proceedings during the four-day trial in January, several men recounted their fear and shame after they were abused. Christian Burdet, 53, recalled how Preynat forced him to go into his tent when he was a 10-year-old scout. Describing years of suffering, Burdet said he wanted to "understand how this system was put in place" and help other victims to speak out. Preynat's trial is to be held by next year. The date has not been set yet. Only 13 cases out of an estimated total of 85 accusers will go to court, as the statute of limitations has expired for the others. The decision against Barbarin was handed down less than two weeks after the conviction of Cardinal George Pell, of Australia, for sexually abusing two youths. He too is appealing. And it comes amid a reckoning among rank-and-file Catholics of how church leaders around the globe allowed decades of sexual abuse and coverup to fester. The resulting crisis in confidence in the hierarchy sparked Francis's decision to convene church leaders from around the world for an extraordinary Vatican summit last month. Also last month, Francis defrocked the onetime leader of the American Catholic Church, ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick, after a church investigation determined he sexually molested minors and adult men.<doc-sep>
Jeff Pachoud, AFP | Lyon's archbishop, cardinal Philippe Barbarin, arrives at the city's courthouse to attend his trial on January 8, 2019. French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin has said he will offer his resignation to the pope after a French court found him guilty of failing to report to justice accusations against a paedophile priest in his diocese. Advertising Read more The Lyon court's surprise decision in a landmark trial for France was seen by alleged victims as a victory for child protection and a strong signal to the Catholic Church. The court handed Barbarin a six-month suspended prison sentence for not reporting the cases in the period between July 2014 and June 2015. In a brief statement to the media, Barbarin said "I have decided to go and see the Holy Father to offer him my resignation." He said he would meet Pope Francis "in a few days," and expressed his "compassion" for the alleged victims. Alleged victims of the Rev. Bernard Preynat claim Barbarin and other church officials covered up for him for years, but the statute of limitations had expired on some charges and even the prosecutor had said the cardinal should be acquitted. Five other defendants were acquitted. Barbarin trial 'liberated the voices of victims' In the court's decision, magistrates wrote that Barbarin "had the obligation to report" accusations because the alleged victims didn't request the ecclesiastic secrecy. Alexandre Dussot-Hezez, one of the alleged victims and among those who brought the case to trial, met Barbarin in November 2014 and kept informing him that there were probably other victims. "Cardinal Barbarin never showed any doubt about the information," the court wrote. Barbarin was not present at the Lyon court Thursday. His lawyer, Jean-Felix Luciani, said he will appeal. "This is a decision that is not fair at the juridical level," Luciani said. He added: "We hope that at the next step, justice will be done." 'An unprecedented decision from the French courts' Preynat has confessed to abusing Boy Scouts in the 1970s and '80s and will be tried separately. Nine people who said the priest abused them brought the case against Barbarin to court. "This is a victory that sends a strong signal to lots of victims and a signal to the church as well," said François Dévaux, president of the association "La Parole Libérée" (Lift the Burden of Silence), a group of victims of Preynat. "We see that no one is above the law. We have been heard by the court. This is the end of a long path," Dévaux added. The victims say top clergy had been aware of Preynat's actions since 1991, but allowed him to be in contact with children until his 2015 retirement. In addition to Barbarin, an archbishop, a bishop, a priest and two other officials had been on trial. Another top Catholic official, Cardinal Luis Ladaria, was among the accused - but didn't appear in court because the Vatican invoked his diplomatic immunity. The Vatican spokesman didn't immediately respond after the verdict was handed down. The French church has been roiled in recent years by allegations against predator priests which have come to light in the wake of a global move by victims to come forward with evidence. Clerics have been denounced in countries as far afield as Australia, Brazil, Chile, Ireland, and the United States, leading Pope Francis to promise to rid the church of the scourge that has done enormous damage to its standing. 'This is not a good moment for the Catholic Church' (FRANCE 24 with AP) Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning Subscribe