Bétharram: former bishop and Resistance hero accused of rape by ex-pupil
A former student of Notre-Dame de Bétharram filed a complaint in 2025 for rape against Msgr Pierre-Marie Théas, who died in 1977. The Inirr is to rule on compensation on 6 October.
Msgr Théas, Resistance figure, targeted by rape complaint at Bétharram
According to BFM TV, a former pupil of Notre-Dame de Bétharram, a Catholic establishment in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, filed a complaint in 2025 for psychological, physical and sexual violence suffered during his schooling. Among these allegations, he mentions a rape committed in 1971 by an "elderly priest" in a "building set apart". The information was revealed on Saturday 19 September by Mediapart.
The man in question is Pierre-Marie Théas, former bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes, who died in 1977. Recognised as "Righteous Among the Nations" for his commitment against the persecution of Jews during the Occupation, Théas is now at the centre of an internal investigation by the Catholic Church.
The alleged victim contacted "several months ago" the National Independent Body for Recognition and Reparation (Inirr), created by the Catholic Church in 2021 to handle cases of sexual violence in dioceses. The Inirr board is to meet on 6 October next to rule on possible compensation.
The current bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes, Jean-Marc Micas, indicated in a statement that he was "informed of this situation in July 2026". When asked by the Inirr to provide information likely to support the credibility of the report, he specified that a "thorough search of the archives did not permit a positive response to this request".
The bishop of Bayonne, Marc Aillet, confirmed on his part that "rigorous checks were immediately carried out in the diocesan archives", given the regional presence of the congregation, without any information having come to light.
The Louis Joinet Institute (IFDJ), an NGO specialising in this area and mandated by the congregation to conduct investigations for over a year, estimates that between 700 and 1,500 children schooled from 1950 to the late 1990s at Notre-Dame-de-Bétharram and at other establishments of the same congregation may have been potential victims of sexual, physical or psychological violence.
The Inirr had been established by the French episcopate following the report of the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (Ciase), which estimated 330,000 minors to be victims of such acts within the institution.
Source: BFM TV