French actor breaks silence on child sex abuse within church

By SYLVIE CORBET
Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — At 8 years old, Laurent Martinez was sexually abused by a priest. Forty years later, he has chosen to make his story into a play, to show the devastating consequences and how speaking out can help victims heal and rebuild. The play called “Pardon?” is drawn from the French author and actor’s own life, describing how he felt devoured from the inside by the abuse and struggled with daily life after it. Martinez’s play was shown to bishops earlier this year, ahead of a groundbreaking report last week that estimated that about 330,000 children in France were sexually abused over the past 70 years within France’s Catholic Church.