French authorities have launched an investigation into one of the most senior figures in the French Catholic Church, who admitted to sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl when he was a priest more than three decades ago.   

  French Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, 78, made the startling admission in a written statement read by the President of the French Bishops’ Conference, Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, during a press conference in Lourdes on Monday.   

  The cardinal wrote in the statement that his behavior was “reprehensible” and “led to serious and lasting consequences for this person.”   

  Ricard said he had asked for forgiveness from the victim, who he said he abused 35 years ago, and his family.  He added that he would go on retreat to pray.   

  On Tuesday, the prosecutor’s office in Marseille announced that a preliminary investigation had been launched into the cardinal.   

  The cardinal’s admission has “shocked” Catholic bishops in France, Moulin-Beaufort said.  He has also renewed scrutiny of sex abuse in the Catholic Church, which has been covered in multiple reports detailing decades of sex abuse, systemic failures and cover-ups in many countries.   

  Ricard became a cardinal in 2006 and is a former head of the French bishops’ conference.  He retired as Archbishop of Bordeaux in 2019.   

  He is also a member of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, which oversees investigations into sexual abuse cases.   

  According to Moulins-Beaufort, Ricard was among 11 former or current French bishops accused of abuse-related cases.   

  French political authorities and the Vatican’s Directorate for the Doctrine of the Faith have been informed of the revelations, he added.   

  Ricard said in his written statement that he intended to cooperate with political and Catholic church investigations into his case.   

  A Vatican spokesman had no comment when contacted by CNN.   

  A landmark report in 2021 found that members of the Catholic clergy in France sexually abused some 216,000 minors over the past seven decades and that the Church prioritized protecting the institution over survivors who were told to remain silent.   

  Pope Francis said in September that he would take it upon himself to rid the Church of sexual abuse, telling CNN affiliate CNN Portugal that he was “responsible that it doesn’t happen anymore.”