The French Catholic Church has paid compensation to 23 victims of pedophilia after a special body was established earlier this year to provide financial compensation to victims of this type of crime, BTA reported.

The National Compensation Authority held a press conference today announcing that it has received claims from over 1,000 victims since its inception.

There are already 60 confirmed decisions on the granting of benefits, and 45 of them are for amounts between 8,000 and 60,000 euros.

The money of 23 victims has already been transferred.

The French Prime Minister met with the Pope in the midst of the scandal surrounding the church in France

At the request of victims, compensation can also include non-financial support, such as participation in discussion groups, art therapy and meetings with representatives of the local church, explained Marie Derain de Vaucresson, who heads the body.

France's Catholic bishops' conference agreed to pay compensation after a report was released last year that revealed that over 70 years, more than 330,000 children were victims of sexual abuse by individuals linked to the French Catholic Church.

pedophile priests

Catholic church