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A30 world news
Diamars 9 November 2021

French bishops agree to compensate sex abuse victims

They also called on Pope month described “systemic”
Francis to send “a team of vis- The study released by an in- coverup of abuses by the
itors” to assess the church’s dependent commission es- Catholic Church, and urged
response regarding child pro- timated that some 330,000 the church to respect the rule
tection. children were sexually abused of law in France.
over 70 years by priests or
Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, other church-related figures. It said the tally of 330,000
President of the Bishops’ victims includes an estimat-
Conference, hailed a “deci- “We felt disgust and horror ed 216,000 people abused
sive step” in a speech. inside us when we realized by priests and other clerics,
how much suffering so many and the rest by church fig-
He stressed that the Church people had lived and were ures such as Scout leaders
has recognized its “institu- still living,” Moulins-Beau- and camp counselors. The
tional responsibility” and de- fort said. estimates were based on a
cided to go “on a path of rec- broader research by France’s
ognition and reparation that The bishops acknowledged National Institute of Health
(AP) — France’s Catho- up an “independent, national paves the way for victims to the church’s responsibility and Medical Research into
lic Church announced on body” tasked with address- get the possibility of a media- that implies financial com- sexual abuse of children in
Monday that it would fi- ing compensation issues. tion and a compensation.” pensation because the com- the country.
nancially compensate sex They committed to allocat- mission “strongly suggested
abuse victims by selling ing money to a specific fund The Bishops Conference that path” but also because France is a traditionally Ro-
property assets or taking “in order to compensate held its annual meeting a “worshippers full of shame man Catholic country, but
out a loan if needed. victims,” notably by selling month after a report revealed were expecting it from us,” adheres to a strict form of
property or through a poten- large-scale child sex abuse he said. secularism in public life
French bishops said in a writ- tial loan. within the French Catholic based on a 1905 law separat-
ten statement they will set Church. The report published last ing church and state.

Parties sign power-sharing deal to form new Czech government

(AP) — The Czech Republic liberal coalition made up of the Pirate 18-member government. position.
gained a new government on Party and STAN - a group of may-
Monday after two party coalitions ors - which came in third place with Babis narrowly lost the election with The five parties are closer to the
that garnered a sizeable chunk of 15.6% of votes. 27.1%. Monday’s signing takes the European Union than Euroskeptic
votes in the country’s parliamen- populist billionaire a step closer to the Babis.
tary election last month signed a The new partnership will hold a end of his reign in power.
power-sharing deal. 108-seat majority in the the 200-seat The new parliament also convened
lower house of Parliament, relegat- President Milos Zeman has indicated for the first time to elect a new speak-
A three-party, liberal-conservative ing outgoing populist Prime Minister that he was willing to swear in Fiala as er and other parliamentary officials.
coalition dubbed Together, composed Andrej Babis and his centrist ANO prime minister, but it wasn’t immedi-
of the Civic Democratic Party, Chris- (YES) movement to the opposition. ately clear when that might happen. Among the new government’s im-
tian Democrats and the TOP 09 par- mediate tasks are a new surge of coro-
ty, led the election with a 27.8% share “We’re aware there’re no easy times Zeman, who is currently hospitalized, navirus infections and high inflation
of the vote. ahead of us,” said Petr Fiala, the co- had previously said that he wanted to driven up by soaring energy prices.
alitions’ candidate for prime min- reappoint his ally Babis who refused
Together teamed up with a center-left ister. The parties agreed to form an the offer, saying he will be in the op-

Relative of MH17 victims describes grief, criticizes Russia

(AP) — The chairman of He also asked judges in the Piet Ploeg, chairman of the Their statements have given was hit by a Buk missile sys-
a foundation that repre- mass murder trial of three MH17 Disaster Foundation the court a glimpse of the tem trucked into Ukraine
sents families of people Russians and a Ukrainian that was established after the emotional anguish of rela- from a Russian military base.
killed when a passenger charged for their alleged role July 17, 2014, downing of the tives since a Buk missile
jet was shot down over in downing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, lost his brother blew the jet out of the sky “I invite your court to talk
eastern Ukraine in 2014 flight MH17 to spell out in Alex along with Alex’s wife, above conflict-torn eastern explicitly about this in your
told a Dutch court Mon- clear terms in their final ver- Edith, and their son Robert Ukraine. All 298 passengers verdict so that we can know
day of his grief at losing dict — expected next year as they flew from Amsterdam and crew were killed. — so the whole world can
his brother — no trace of — about Russia’s role in the to Kuala Lumpur on their know — what caused our
whom was ever found. downing of the plane. Russia way to a vacation in Bali. While traces of Ploeg’s sis- relatives’ pointless deaths and
denies any involvement. ter-in-law and nephew were what role the Russian Fed-
He was one of the last of found at the crash site and eration played in downing
scores of relatives to tell sent back to the Netherlands MH17,” Ploeg said.
judges about his loss as part for formal identification, no
of the murder trial of four part of his brother was ever He told judges he sums up
suspects, none of whom have recovered. Russia’s stance in the years
been arrested and sent to the since the plane was shot
Netherlands to face justice. “I find it difficult to accept down in a single word: “De-
that my brother’s mortal re- spicable.”
Under Dutch law, relatives mains have disappeared or
are allowed to make a vic- are somewhere far away and “Years of disinformation, al-
tim impact statements to the that I will never be able to say ternative theories, denials,
court without being asked farewell to what remains of distortions, and refusal to
questions. Starting in Sep- my brother,” Ploeg told the face responsibility, noncoop-
tember, dozens have done so, court. eration in the investigation
some speaking via live video and the criminal trial. That is
links from other countries. Prosecutors say the plane was the Russian Federation,” he
shattered in mid-air when it said.