A crisis shakes the Archdiocese of Montreal with the publication of a devastating report on the handling of complaints filed against priests and the resignation of a retired judge who was trying to improve the way these were handled by the Church .
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Mandated to defend the victims of priests, the archdiocese’s ombudsman, Me Marie Christine Kirouack, takes a damning look at the prevailing climate within the Montreal Catholic Church. Our Bureau of Investigation obtained an advance copy of its fifth quarterly report, which is released today.
Me Kirouack reports the unacceptable intrusion of a religious leader in the handling of complaints against priests, a threat of dismissal to an employee crucial to her work and even a complaint filed against her at the Barreau du Québec. by a person from the archdiocese.
The release of the report coincides with the resignation of retired judge Pepita G. Capriolo, also outraged by the situation, from her post at the archdiocese. She had ensured the implementation of a new, more rigorous process for dealing with complaints against priests.
Innovative
Ms. Capriolo was at the origin of the idea of this process, considered innovative by several specialists in the religious field.
It was launched in the wake of the voluminous report she produced in 2020 on the case of a Montreal priest convicted of sexual assault on two teenagers, where she found major shortcomings in the functioning of the archdiocese.
Ms. Capriolo’s approach was also the subject of a documentary by our Bureau of Investigation, entitled Secrets and Sins of the Churchavailable on the Vrai platform since last September.
In her letter of resignation, published as an appendix to Ombudsman Kirouack’s report, the former Superior Court magistrate expresses her “sadness” and her “real disappointment” at the turn of things in the Montreal Church. .
“Despite the efforts of several stakeholders in good faith, she writes, serious problems remain in the implementation of the recommendations [de mon rapport] and in the application of regulations, policies and procedures approved by the Archbishop. »
disturbing work
For her part, ombudsman Kirouack notes in her report that the problems she encounters come from certain people.
“Do I think my job bothers some people from the old guard? Definitely, especially those who knowingly have not acted in the past in [des dossiers de plaintes] and who are still in office. »
In conclusion, she nonetheless poses a critical judgment on the leadership of Archbishop Christian Lépine.
“Am I questioning the archbishop’s good faith? No. But do I think he lacks strength in applying the rules? Yes. And that it is possibly badly advised? Very possibly. »
A vicar leaked information on the denunciations
The ombudsman of the archdiocese of Montreal says he discovered last summer that an episcopal vicar, whom she does not identify, was leaking information contained in complaints against priests.
This is what we learn in the report released today by Me Marie Christine Kirouack
“He relayed blind copy emails to an outside person in defiance of the confidentiality of the complaint process, and in doing so, disclosed: the names of complainants, the names of persons subject to complaints […] and even some of my emails as ombudsman regarding complaints. »
Me Kirouack brought the case to the attention of archbishopric officials who ended up suspending the vicar three months later.
A delay that she considers too long and “difficult to understand”.
Flabbergasted
She is flabbergasted by the cavalier way in which the archdiocesan archivist – whom she does not name – was treated, an employee essential to her work as ombudsman. The latter was threatened with dismissal “in all likelihood for having dared to ask for a raise”, she writes, because of an increase in work caused by the new process for handling complaints against priests.
But the story does not end there. An employee of the archdiocese decided on his own initiative to suspend the computer access of the archivist following his departure on sick leave, which had the effect of depriving the ombudsman of access to certain files of complaints.
Photo archives, Joel Lemay
Monsignor Christian Lépine, Archbishop of Montreal
Mr. Kirouack immediately complained to the officials of the archdiocese, including Bishop Christian Lépine.
The employee concerned, he unexpectedly retorted by filing a complaint against her at the Barreau du Québec.
“By taking this job, I knew I would not gain popularity, but from there to being the subject of complaints to the Bar, there is a margin,” she writes.