Article originally published on https://www.acistampa.com/story/31521/boom-di-catecumeni-adulti-la-riapertura-di-notre-dame-lanno-dellarcidiocesi-di-parigi
The reopening of Notre Dame, the Paris cathedral that came back to life after a fire five years ago, coincides with a surge in adult catechumens in the Archdiocese of Paris, a sign of a living faith that generates conversions. But it also marks a rise in reported cases of abuse and responses to them, demonstrating the Archdiocese of Paris’s strong commitment to this issue .
The Archdiocese of Paris published its annual report last week, marking the resumption of activities. A somewhat expanded liturgical year, it encompasses several important events for Catholics in the French capital, centering on the reopening of Notre-Dame.
But the numbers to watch are the adult catechumens. Last year, there were 672, including 177 students and 160 young people.
Over the course of the year, 1016 adults received confirmation , in the celebrations of January (132) and Pentecost (780) and in various diocesan celebrations (for a total of 104). The oldest of these adult catechumens was 83 years old .
The Archdiocese of Paris proudly displays the fact that its territory is home to 10 percent of all France’s catechumens.
In 2024, 75 percent of adult catechumens were still under 40 years old.
Abuse Chapter . According to the Archdiocese of Paris’s report, as of June 30, 2025, there were 31 pending judicial proceedings for abuse in the Diocese of Paris alone, a far from negligible number. The increase is also noteworthy because the number has more than doubled: from 14 to 31 proceedings in one year.
Bishop Emmanuel Tois , auxiliary bishop of Paris who deals with abuse, commented with satisfaction on the results, because – he said – after a period marked by numerous and serious abuses “several decades ago”, today it is simply necessary to maintain “constant vigilance”.
The data published here regarding the management of situations of abuse, while not comparable, either in number or severity of the acts, to what the Church experienced several decades ago, demonstrate that sexual crimes can still be committed within the Church.
The abuse case numbers refer to situations from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025. During that time period, 8 reports were sent to the prosecutor, 7 reports were filed without follow-up, and 6 people were prosecuted.
Of these, two have been subjected to judicial investigation, one has been summoned to court but has not yet been tried, two people have been convicted in the first instance and are now appealing, and one person has been acquitted.
There are 31 ongoing procedures as of June 30, 2025 (reports from the diocese or complaints made directly by the victim to the Police or the Public Prosecutor).
As regards canonical processes, 2 procedures are underway, with 2 people having been the subject of a canonical decision that closed the procedure, while 14 procedures are underway as of June 30, 2025.