Dear friends and comrades,
The French Federation of Libre Pensée has been entrusted by the International Association of Freethought to organize in France the IXth Congress of the IAFT.
It will be held on 10 and 11 October 2025 at the Grenoble City Hall (Auvergne- Rhône-Alpes Region) where we will be fraternally welcomed by the Mayor of the city.
Its themes will be, for which we are looking for contributions from you:
– Mutual Aid and Solidarity between Freethinkers and their associations throughout the world
– The Crimes of the Churches and just reparation for the victims
– Inventories of the wealth of Churches and religions
A meeting of the International Council will be held on Saturday 11 October at noon, at which we will discuss our actions and a change to the bylaws of the Association, following requests from Latin America. You will find the draft attached.
This IXth Congress will conclude with the adoption of an International Declaration summarising the issues under discussion. The draft will be sent to you a few months in advance so that you can discuss it and amend it if you wish.
On Saturday evening, there will be a major public conference in Lyon, home of the Primate of the Gauls of the Catholic Church and heavily involved in the sexual crimes of the Catholic clergy. The theme will be the Barbarin affair, the archbishop implicated in these crimes, and we’ll be holding it with associations of victims of the Church.
We’ll be sending you the registration forms and fees shortly.
We look forward to meeting you.
Christian Eyschen spoke-person of IAFT
For all contacts and information: eyschenchristian@orange.fr
Programme of the IXth IAFT Congress
October 2025 10 & 11
In Grenoble and Lyon – FRANCE
► Friday afternoon (2pm) :
-
Welcoming participants
-
Welcoming from the Mayor of Grenoble
-
Welcoming speech from Christian Eyschen, spokesperson of IAFT
● Presentation: Solidarity between Freethinkers by Xavier Hyvert, President of Entraide et Solidarité des Libres Penseurs de France (ESLPF) – (20 minutes)
-
Speeches by representatives of the various countries on this theme to explain the situation they know and practise in their different countries
-
Proposal for an international action of Solidarity between Free Thinkers from all over the world
● 6pm : Reception in the Hall of Honour at Grenoble Town Hall
● 8pm : fraternal banquet
► Saturday morning (9am) :
● Presentation : The Victims of Church Crimes by Keith Porteous Wood, IAFT spokesperson and UN Expert (30 minutes)
– Speeches by representatives of the various countries on this theme
● 12am : Meeting of the International Council with lunch in the meeting room to discuss
– Lunch in the Hall of Honour for other participants
► Saturday afternoon (2pm) :
– Continuation of speeches on the crimes of the Churches
● 3.30 pm :
– Presentation on the surveys to be carried out on the wealth of the Churches by Dominique Goussot, Head of the “Law and Secularism” Commission of the French Libre Pensée (20 minutes)
– Adoption of an international statement “For justice for all victims of the crimes of the Churches”.
– Conclusion of the IXth Congres by Elbio Laxalte, spokesperson of IAFT
► Saturday evening (8pm) :
● Public conference: “The Barbarin Affair or the Story of Impunity”, with the Lyon Victims’ Associations, chaired by Pierre Girod, President of the Rhône Libre Pensée.