“A seriously mentally ill person”: this letter from Monsignor Veuillot dating from 1964 which already overwhelms Abbé Pierre

The letter written by the Deputy Archbishop of Paris was made public by the Conference of Bishops of France to clarify the gray areas surrounding the actions of Abbé Pierre.

“He must be escorted as closely as possible”, “not lost sight of him”. In this letter dated March 13, 1964 and which RTLobtained, Monsignor Veuillot, coadjutor archbishop of Paris, reveals the behavior of Abbé Pierre, already contested at the time. A letter that was kept in the archives and that the Conference of Bishops of France (CEF) has just made public to clarify the accusations of sexual assault of which the founder of Emmaüs is accused.

“Young girls […] marked for life”

According to RTL, in this letter written for the attention of the Cardinal of Montreal, a few months after a shortened visit by Abbé Pierre to Quebec, Monsignor Veuillot describes the man of the Church as “a seriously mentally ill person”, detailing “a loss of all self-control, particularly after the best-selling books “ and “young girls […] marked for life”. Actions that "do not happen when he has a guide who takes care of him", he also writes.

Impossible to disavow him politically

A behavior that has not been made public, however, Monsignor Veuillot specifying that it is "impossible to disavow him politically. Those who are responsible for his case fear a scandal". At the beginning of September, after the Emmaüs report denouncing the actions of Abbé Pierre, seventeen new people accused him of assault.