French Catholic Church calls for probe into late priest Abbe Pierre's alleged sexual abuse

PARIS (Reuters) - France's Catholic Church called on prosecutors on Friday to open a probe into sexual assault accusations against the late French priest Abbe Pierre, who was a lifelong campaigner for the poor and homeless, and potential cover-ups of such abuse.

Henri-Antoine Groues, better known as Abbe Pierre, was a Roman Catholic priest who renounced wealth to campaign for the homeless and was once one of France's most revered figures. He died in 2007, aged 94.

The church's request comes after two charities founded by Abbe Pierre released a report last July bearing the testimonies of seven women accusing the late priest of sexual assault or harassment.

The charities, Emmaus International and the Abbe Pierre Foundation, said they believed the accusations and stood by the alleged victims.

In a statement published on Friday, France's top bishop, Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, said he was asking the Paris prosecutor's office to open a probe for "failure to report rape and sexual assault on vulnerable people and minors".

"Only the justice system has the necessary investigative means to allow the full truth to be known on potential silences that benefitted Abbe Pierre," the statement said.

The Paris prosecutor's office did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.

Since the first accusations were revealed publicly, the charities opened a helpline to gather more testimonies. They published a second report in September with 17 new alleged victims, and a third one on Monday, bringing the total number of Abbe Pierre's alleged victims to 33.

The charities thanked those who had agreed to share their experience of abuse, sometimes for the first time, saying they had shown great courage.

(Reporting by Juliette Jabkhiro; Editing by Richard Lough and Frances Kerry)