Pierre-Marie Théas accused of rape by former student

Pierre-Marie Théas, the former Bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes and a recognized ‘Juste parmi les nations’ for his Resistance activities, has been accused of rape by a former student of the Notre-Dame de Bétharram Catholic school. The complainant, who filed a report in 2025 regarding psychological, physical, and sexual violence experienced during his schooling, alleges the assault occurred in 1971 in a secluded building.

Jean-Marc Micas, the current Bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes, stated he was informed of the situation in July 2026. While acknowledging that Théas lived in an apartment at Bétharram until his death in 1977, Micas noted that thorough searches of the diocesan archives have failed to find evidence supporting the allegation. Similarly, Marc Aillet, the Bishop of Bayonne, reported that rigorous checks of regional archives yielded no corroborating information.

The victim has approached the Instance nationale indépendante de reconnaissance et de réparation (Inirr), a body established by the French Catholic Church in 2021 to address clerical abuse. The Inirr college is scheduled to meet on October 6 to deliberate on the request for compensation.