(Quebec) Non-native Quebec victims of sexual assaults committed by members of the Catholic clergy are asking Pope Francis to bring them “prompt justice” ahead of his visit to Canada at the end of the month.
Posted at 5:53 p.m.
The victims’ lawyers said Thursday that they had made the request directly to the pope, in an open letter. They claim that more than 2,500 people who were assaulted by members of the clergy are still waiting for justice in the courts of Quebec.
“Certain religious congregations and certain dioceses use maneuvers which appear to us to go against the interests of the victims and your declarations”, we read in this letter to the pope, signed by victims and their lawyers, and made public Thursday in Quebec.
“These defense strategies can lead to waiting times of more than 10 years for certain files, without questioning whether certain congregations and certain dioceses take into consideration the age of the victims to lengthen the delays. »
Pope Francis is due to visit Canada July 24-29; he will travel to Alberta, Quebec and Nunavut. A major theme of his visit is reconciliation with Indigenous peoples for abuses suffered at federal residential schools for Indigenous people, many of which were run by members of Catholic religious congregations.
But non-Indigenous victims of sexual and physical assault in Quebec also hope to draw attention to other church-related crimes.
Beyond prayers, the victims expect concrete actions. Can you intervene, Pope Francis, to quickly bring justice to the victims of sexual assault by members of your Church, by giving specific instructions to the dioceses and religious congregations of Quebec.
Extract from the letter
In a press release, Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix, Archbishop of Quebec, acknowledged receipt of the letter intended for the pope. Bishop Lacroix, who is overseeing the Quebec leg of the papal visit, promised he would personally see to it that the letter reached him.
Cardinal Lacroix said that while the papal visit is primarily aimed at meeting with indigenous communities, the common thread of this journey will be “the journey towards truth, justice, healing, reconciliation, hope”.
Obtain justice in their lifetime
Lawyer Marc Bellemare, one of the signatories of the letter, declared at a press conference Thursday in Quebec that the pope’s visit was an “exceptional opportunity for the victims to obtain commitments from him”.
PHOTO JACQUES BOISSINOT, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Lawyer Marc Bellemare
“There are many victims of pedophile priests who have expectations, and what is happening on the ground is unacceptable because everything the pope has been saying for months and years does not reverberate in the courtrooms or the dioceses,” lamented Mr.e Bellemare.
“These cases are often overtaken by years of legal battles,” said the Quebec lawyer, adding that many victims will not obtain justice in their lifetime.
Gaétan Bégin, now 82, a member of a class action against the diocese of Quebec, was allegedly assaulted by a priest for three years in Beauce. This lawsuit is the first class action authorized in Quebec against a diocese for acts committed by members of the clergy. The lawsuit covers the region of Quebec and the regions of Chaudière-Appalaches, Charlevoix and Beauce.
Mr. Bégin, who co-signed the letter to the pope, said at a press conference Thursday that the attacks had caused lifelong injuries. The assaults he suffered ruined not only his youth but much of his adult life, he said.
“I was confused, without strength, completely demolished. I carried within me an open wound that never closed completely. »
Mr. Bégin, who lives in Sherbrooke, later discovered that his three brothers had also been abused. He asks the pope to apologize and use the Vatican’s wealth to compensate all those who suffered at the hands of representatives of the Catholic Church.
“I would tell him that the pain has gone on long enough. When a victim suffers, his whole family suffers-everyone suffers. »
Apologies to people, not to God
Shirley Christensen, who spent years in both criminal and civil courts before settling her own assault case more than a decade ago, is also a signatory to the letter. Mme Christensen asks the Pope to put an end to the suffering of the victims and to provide them with immediate aid.
PHOTO JACQUES BOISSINOT, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Shirley Christensen
I ask him, more specifically, not to apologize to God this time, because these horrors were not done to God, but to innocent Quebec victims who were, for the most part, children.
Shirley Christensen
Lawyer Alain Arsenault, whose firm is leading several lawsuits against Catholic clergy, says no demonstrations are planned during the Pope’s visit. He said his cabinet released the letter this week because it didn’t want it to overshadow the pope’s visit to a residential school, and the overall theme of healing and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.
During his trip to Canada, Pope Francis is expected to apologize for the role played by the Catholic Church in federal residential schools. He expressed such regret earlier this year when an Indigenous delegation visited the Vatican.
During his visit to Canada, Pope Francis must notably meet with indigenous groups and visit the former federal Ermineskin residential school in Maskwacis, Alberta. On July 28, he was to celebrate a mass at the sanctuary of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, near Quebec, a place of pilgrimage very popular with Aboriginals, especially the Innu.