Press releases from the Congregation, February 28, 2025.

The Congregation of Bétharram is determined to actively participate in the recognition of all victims and to participate in the reparation for sexual and physical violence committed within it, as well as to contribute to the prevention of this violence.

 The Congregation of Bétharram reaffirms, in line with its press release of September 2024, that it recognises the seriousness of the offences committed within the Institution Notre-Dame-de-Bétharram for several decades. This violence is unacceptable and the Congregation wishes to express its deep compassion for all the people who have been victims of it.

No words can be strong enough to describe the horror, shame and anger that this violence arouses among the members of the Congregation and its feeling of responsibility for the suffering experienced by children and adolescents within the Institution Notre-Dame-de-Bétharram. The Congregation wishes to assure them of its support and its deep regrets.

For three years, the Congregation has been working in concert with the Commission for Recognition and Reparation, so that victims of sexual violence committed by religious people can obtain recognition and reparation, in line with the work of the CIASE.

In keeping with the logic of its collaboration with the IFJD-Institut Louis Joinet, the Congregation of Bétharram has resolved today to continue its commitment through concrete actions alongside the victims, so that all can obtain the truth, justice and reparations to which they are entitled.

This is why the Congregation of Bétharram first and foremost provides its support to all ongoing or future legal proceedings so that the perpetrators of sexual and physical violence, whether religious or lay, may be brought to justice. Beyond moral support, the Congregation is thus ready to assist investigators and all judicial authorities with their inquiries and to provide all the information or documents it holds. The Congregation will also provide assistance to any victim wishing to access its premises or obtain information with a view to filing a complaint.

The Congregation is nevertheless aware that the legal route will probably not guarantee compensation for all victims, particularly due to the statute of limitations. This is why the Congregation wishes to offer victims options that complement the legal route.

In addition to the compensation it provides through the Recognition and Reparation Commission, the Congregation will also create a compensation fund so that all victims of sexual violence committed within the Institution Notre-Dame-de-Bétharram can obtain compensation, regardless of the perpetrator. This fund will therefore be intended for victims of sexual violence committed by lay people, who would not be able to obtain legal compensation. The fund will be financed by the Congregation, through the sale of several real estate properties.

The Congregation has also decided to create an independent commission of inquiry, responsible for establishing the truth about the violence and its causes, to propose a system of material, symbolic and memorial reparations, as well as administrative and educational reorganisation measures intended to prevent the repetition of such violence, including the creation and/or operation of listening cells abroad.

The work of this commission of inquiry will be based on research work and access to archives, but also and above all in welcoming, listening and recording the words of the victims.

Finally, in a desire for reconstruction and repentance, the Congregation of Bétharram invites all victims who wish to participate in a day of meeting and dialogue, during which the Congregation would like to express its regrets and compassion, as well as hear those who agree to speak before it.

These decisions are part of the desire of the Bétharram Congregation to continue, but also to accelerate and deepen the steps started several years ago. After several decades of isolation, victims must now benefit from all the support they are due. After several decades of impunity, preventing further violence is our priority.

These decisions, particularly concerning the creation, composition and skills of the commission of inquiry, will be presented in more detail during the day of reflection on sexual violence organized by the IFJD-Institut Louis Joinet, in Bayonne, on March 15.

 Congregation of Bétharram, February 28, 2025