An independent investigation into the Oblate father accused of sexually assaulting Inuit children in Nunavut concludes that the Catholic congregation was unaware of the allegations when Joannès Rivoire returned to France.
Retired Superior Court judge André Denis led the investigation, at the request of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (“OMI Lacombe Canada”) and the Oblates of the Province of France.
Mr. Denis discovered that the Oblates of Mary Immaculate did not know that Father Rivoire was the subject of an investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) when the priest returned to France in 1993.
The retired judge also concludes that this religious congregation was not contacted by the RCMP when charges were laid in Canada five years later.
The “truth-reconciliation investigation” report indicates that the Oblates of France became aware of the accusations in 2013, thanks to an online newspaper article.
In his final report made public Tuesday, retired judge Denis wrote that “Joannès Rivoire did not tell the whole truth to his superiors, to his colleagues, to the Inuit for whom he had pastoral charge.”
“And he himself denies a reality which is nevertheless demonstrated,” affirms Mr. Denis.
Father Rivoire, now 93 years old, has always refused to return to Canada since an arrest warrant was issued against him in 1998. He has faced at least three charges of sexual assault which allegedly committed in the communities of Arviat, Rankin Inlet and Naujaat, Nunavut. More than twenty years after they were filed, the charges were stayed.
Another arrest warrant was issued for Rivoire in 2022 for a charge of “indecent assault” involving a young girl in Arviat and Whale Cove between 1974 and 1979. French authorities have always rejected the extradition request of the Canada.
Read Isabelle Hachey’s column on the subject
He refuses to face justice
Inuit leaders and politicians urged the Oblate father to come to Canada to stand trial, and pressure mounted on the religious congregation to provide answers about what it had done in these cases.
Last year, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, OMI Lacombe Canada and the Oblates of the Province of France appointed retired judge Denis to shed “independent light on the departure from Canada to France in 1993 of Joannès Rivoire.”
Mr. Denis had already been charged by the Archdiocese of Montreal in 2020 with examining allegations of sexual assault of minors and vulnerable adults in nine dioceses of Quebec. And Pope Francis tasked the retired judge earlier this month with investigating allegations of sexual misconduct against Cardinal Cyprien Lacroix, the archbishop of Quebec.
Mr. Denis affirms in his report that his conclusions on Father Rivoire do not replace a criminal trial. However, based on the “preponderance of the evidence,” the retired judge’s investigation supports allegations that Rivoire molested six children in Nunavut.
The investigation also found evidence of another Inuit victim between 1968 and 1970, although no complaints were filed in that case.
Joannès Rivoire has denied all allegations against him, and none have been proven in court.
“I am not innocent”
When the Oblates of France confronted Father Rivoire 15 years after the charges were filed in Canada, he told another priest in France in December 2013 that he “was not innocent” and that “in the middle Eskimo [sic]the children were looking for tenderness that they did not have in their family,” we read in the investigation report.
“If I am not innocent, the children are not either, but we don’t say that,” Rivoire allegedly told the Oblate father who met him to “hear his version of the facts.”
Mr. Denis met Rivoire in France last year. The priest proclaimed his innocence, the report indicates, but he admitted to having had a sexual relationship “with an adult Inuit woman.”
Joannès Rivoire arrived in Canada in 1959. He remained in the Far North until January 1993, when he announced to his superiors that he had to return to France to take care of his elderly parents.
That same month, four people went to the RCMP in Nunavut to accuse him of sexual assault.
Mr. Denis writes that it is possible that rumors about the priest’s behavior were the cause of his departure, but this information was not shared with the congregation.
“He chose the convenient, as well as truthful, means of helping his sick parents to leave Canada,” writes Mr. Denis. He didn’t say everything. »
PHOTO JEFF PACHOUD, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
A delegation of Inuit went to France to support an extradition request filed by Ottawa against the cleric of Franco-Canadian nationality.
The retired judge spoke to some of the plaintiffs and family members of those who have since died. They spoke of trauma and persistent pain. Many believed that the Oblates had played a role in Rivoire’s departure, the investigation report indicates.
However, Mr. Denis says he examined numerous files from the Oblates of Canada, France and Rome, and he also spoke with Church officials of the time. He found no evidence that the Church knew of the allegations or that it played a role in Rivoire’s flight to France.
Not up to date
The report indicates that neither the 1998 charges nor the arrest warrant were served on Rivoire, who had already left, or on the Oblates. There was a publication ban and the matter was not made public. The following year, the RCMP notified a northern diocese of an investigation and provided contact information for Rivoire in France.
“In fact, the RCMP maintained no communication with the Oblates and did not warn them of anything throughout the legal process,” writes Mr. Denis. Same thing for the plaintiffs. »
When the Oblates were informed of the Canadian criminal proceedings, Rivoire was prohibited from exercising public ministry. The Oblates of Canada and France subsequently repeatedly urged Rivoire to face the accusations, but he always refused.
Oblates in Canada and France also appealed to authorities in Rome to begin proceedings to remove Father Rivoire, but it was decided earlier this year that the priest could remain a member of the congregation.
Mr. Denis “respectfully suggests to the Superior General of the Oblates in Rome to review his decision and allow the exclusion of Joannès Rivoire from the Oblate community of France.”
According to the report, this would not bring the justice that Inuit families want, but it could at least provide some salve to the wounds.
“Largely symbolic measure since […] there is no question of throwing Joannès Rivoire into the street. He could stay where he is, but outside the Oblate community,” adds Mr. Denis.
The Rev. Ken Thorson of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Canada said in a statement that nothing can reverse “the damage and tragic legacy of abuse by members of the clergy.”
“We hope that this report will bring some form of recognition to those who have been silenced and ignored countless times by many institutions and authority figures across the country,” concludes the provincial of the Oblates of Canada .