France, March 25 -- Nearly 1,600 victims of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church have approached the National Independent Instance for Recognition and Reparation (Inirr) since 2022, according to a report unveiled on Tuesday.

"As of March 24, 1,580 people have approached the organisation, and 1,235 are now being taken into account," according to Inirrpresident Marie Derain de Vaucresson who presented the three-year activity report to the media.

Derain de Vaucresson said that on average, Inirr is approached by 10 people per month, with a peak earlier this year.

"This is obviously a consequence of media coverage surrounding sexual violence in the church related to the Betharram affair and the revelations aboutAbbe Pierrelast summer,"...