In this file photo taken on March 23, 2006, Bordeaux Archbishop Jean-Pierre Ricard of France arrives at the Synod Hall at the Vatican. (AFP)
The former archbishop of the south-western French city of Bordeaux and ex-president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference has admitted to abusing a girl 35 years ago.
During the plenary assembly of the Bishops' Conference in the pilgrimage site of Lourdes, the bishops received a letter in which the former archbishop Jean-Pierre Ricard admits to having "behaved in a reprehensible way" towards a then 14-year-old girl.
The president of the conference, Archbishop Éric de Moulins-Beaufort, described the confession on Monday as a shock.
Ricard was himself president of the conference from 2001 to 2008.
At its plenary meeting, the Catholic Bishops' Conference is currently discussing how to deal with the issue of abuse within the church, which has caused outrage in France as well as many other countries around the world.
Ten bishops in France, most of them no longer in office, have been targeted by the judiciary or internal church investigations in connection with allegations of sexual abuse, the chairman of the conference said.
In two cases, bishops allegedly failed to pass on information about abuse.
The allegations against the high church representatives concern a wide range of different situations, the archbishop said. He also named some of those affected, some of whom are accused of acts that took place several decades ago.
