To “restore confidence” and commit “to transparency and accountability”, the Jesuits of Canada published on Monday a list of 27 names of Jesuits, including 16 who worked in Quebec, who have been accused “of credible manner” of sexual abuse of minors. An unprecedented exercise in the province, but which is widespread in the United States where many dioceses and religious orders have made such lists public in recent years.
“We cannot rewrite the past,” said Father Erik Oland, provincial superior of the Jesuits of Canada, in an explanatory letter accompanying the publication of the list of religious. However, we wish to contribute to reconciliation, to the repair of past wrongs and to the restoration of confidence. »
The list includes the names, birth and death dates and pastoral assignments of fathers and brothers who have been the subject of “credible allegations”. Only child sexual abuse—not physical abuse or non-consensual sexual relations with adults—were considered for this exercise.
The list concerns allegations for which it seems more likely than not that a crime has been committed.
“The list concerns allegations for which it seems more likely than not that a crime has been committed, explains the religious order. This includes cases where a Jesuit has been accused by credible witnesses, parishioners, civic leaders, or clergy, even though no complaint has been filed or prosecution initiated. »
The Jesuits of Canada did not respond to the interview request of the Duty with Father Oland, but instead asked us to send them written questions. At the time of publication of this article, we had not received the responses.
Several of the Jesuits named on the list worked in schools in Quebec, including Loyola College in Montreal, Saint-Charles-Garnier College in Quebec City, and Jean-de-Brébeuf College in Montreal. A dozen fathers and brothers whose names appear on the list worked in boarding schools or Aboriginal communities. Only three named men are still alive. None currently exercises a ministry.
Application by victims
This exercise in transparency, aimed in particular at responding to requests from victims, is the culmination of an audit undertaken in 2020 by independent investigator Brian King. The Provincial Superior Erik Oland had announced at that time the intention of the Jesuits of Canada to publicly reveal the names of the religious on whom credible allegations weigh.
In the United States, the Jesuits published in December 2018 a list of 200 of their members targeted by “credible accusations” of acts of pedophilia. Dozens of U.S. dioceses and U.S.-based religious congregations have released lists of religious abusers in recent years following the August 2018 release of the Pennsylvania prosecutor’s inflammatory report exposing abuses by more of 300 pedophile priests in the state.
Such a public inquiry into sexual abuse in the Catholic Church has never taken place in Quebec, despite being the province’s biggest child sexual abuse scandal. No diocese or religious congregation in Quebec had yet agreed to reveal the names of their members who allegedly sexually abused children.
Asked by The duty, the Archdiocese of Montreal has hinted that it does not intend to publish a list of abusive priests. “We cannot give details of the status of the abusers because it is personal information protected by our laws, answered the Duty Erika Jacinto, Director of Communications. Quebec privacy law prevents us from disclosing information in an individual’s file. Between 1940 and 2021, 87 priests in the Archdiocese of Montreal committed sexual assaults on children, according to the study of files carried out by former Superior Court judge André Denis.
The Archdiocese of Gatineau does not seem to be heading towards an exercise in public unveiling either. An external audit carried out over the past two years has “identified a few” cases of priests who allegedly committed sexual abuse, the Minister wrote in writing. Duty Bishop Paul-André Durocher. “The priests involved are all dead, except one who is elderly, suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and who has not exercised any ministry in the diocese since his trial and his prison sentence”, he adds.
The Archdiocese of Quebec did not immediately respond to our questions.
Not exhaustive
Already, voices were raised Monday to question the exhaustiveness of the list unveiled by the Jesuits of Canada. In interview at Dutythe lawyer Alain Arsenault, who leads several collective actions targeting dioceses and religious orders, says he has in his hands allegations concerning two Jesuits who do not appear on the list made public.
“Imagine someone who has been molested by a brother and does not see [le nom de son agresseur] on the list”, deplores the lawyer. He nevertheless underlines the “effort” of the Jesuits of Canada. “We rarely see that,” he said. It’s a start, but a slow start. » Father Oland has already announced that « this list must be considered as a living document », which could be supplemented or modified according to information which could arise.
Me Arsenault also asks the religious order to reflect on the reparations it wishes to offer to the victims. No class action has yet been filed in Quebec against the Jesuits of Canada.
For his part, former Superior Court Justice Pepita Capriolo questions the use of the term “credible” by the Jesuits of Canada (the list includes the names of Jesuits who have been “credibly accused of sexual abuse on minors) which “makes the whole exercise somewhat futile”, she writes to the Duty.
“This expression is reminiscent of the ‘false accusations’ of which religious organizations like to raise the specter”, says the one who filed a devastating investigation report in 2020 on the case of the pedophile priest Brian Boucher who raged in the Archdiocese of Montreal. “My experience and that of many lawyers who have dealt with this kind of accusation, is quite the opposite: the victims tend not to complain. In the case of the list unveiled by the Jesuits of Canada, as for other exercises of this kind, there is therefore every reason to wonder whether the phenomenon is not underestimated.