On Thursday, a French laywoman released a memoir in which she accused a priest of the Emmanuel Community of sexually abusing her over a period of several years.
Claudine Blanchard, a consecrated laywoman of the Emmanuel Community, released her book A Red Sofa: From Control to Freedom, in which she alleges a priest called “Father B.” sexually abused her.
“Under the influence of a priest, I was abused for ten years without even knowing it,” she says in the book, alleging the abuse started in 2003 and took place in L’Île-Bouchard and Paray-le-Monial, where there are sanctuaries run by the Emmanuel Community.
French Catholic newspaper La Croix has said that by cross-referencing the information in the book, and speaking to members of the community, it presumes “Father B.” is Father Bernard Peyrous.
Peyrous is a priest from the Diocese of Bordeaux and a former member of the community, who is being formally investigated for rape and sexual assault against adult women.
He denies criminal wrongdoing and is presumed innocent.
“Father Bernard Peyrous has acknowledged having had relationships incompatible with the priesthood, but he denies having acted in violation of criminal law,” Peyrous’ lawyer, Charles Dufranc, told La Croix.