The allegations of sexual assault concerning the Quebec cardinal Marc Ouellet could encourage many victims to break the silence concerning the attacks they have suffered from members of the clergy in recent decades, foresee several actors in the field.
“The calls are multiplying”, confides to the To have to the ombudsman of the Archdiocese of Montreal, Marie Christine Kirouack. In an interview on Wednesday, she said she had received at least four “formal complaints” from women who decided to denounce the sexual assaults they claim to have suffered from members of the Catholic clergy in Montreal, after learning of the “charges important » made public on Tuesday concerning Cardinal Marc Ouellet.
“I have women who have contacted me saying, ‘She had the courage, I’m going to do it too,'” Ms.e Kirouack, who thus notes that the allegations against Mr. Ouellet, who faces no criminal charges, had “a domino effect”.
“All the dioceses will go through it”
The duty tried to contact the main dioceses spread across Quebec to find out if they have noticed an increase in complaints since Tuesday, but only those of Sherbrooke and Gatineau responded to our request, indicating that they had not received any complaints during this period.
The Archbishop of Montreal, M.gr Christian Lépine, for his part, invites “anyone who wishes to communicate with the ombudsman” of his organization. “Too many people have lived in silence for a long time about the events that have turned their lives upside down,” he wrote in a statement sent to the To have to.
As part of a class action against the Diocese of Quebec filed Tuesday at the Quebec City courthouse, a young woman designated by the letter “F” testifies to having been sexually assaulted in 2008 by Cardinal Marc Ouellet. This last had been anticipated in 2013 to succeed Pope Benedict XVI. At the time of the alleged events, the victim was 23 years old.
“If someone was able to denounce Cardinal Ouellet, why would I not be able to denounce the priest of my parish? says lawyer Alain Arsenault, who represents the alleged victims in this class action. According to him, the number of alleged victims is expected to increase in the coming weeks.
“The more we talk, the more examples we will give and the more it will convince the victims to come out of the closet,” also believes the spokesperson for the Association of Young Victims of the Church, Suzanne Tremblay. “We have just opened Pandora’s box, and it will continue in the coming months,” she foresees.
Eventually, “I think that all the dioceses will go through it,” says the spokesperson for victims of sexual assault of priests, Roger Lessard, who also hopes that beyond the apologies, the Church will compensate financially the victims, “and quickly”.
At least 22 victims
Ombudsman Marie Christine Kirouack, who was hired by the Archdiocese of Montreal in May 2021 to investigate allegations of abuse involving members of the clergy, said incidentally published its fourth report on Wednesday since taking office. This draws up an inventory as of July 31, 2022.
The ombudsman indicates that he forwarded to an advisory committee 11 complaints concerning as many members of the clergy. These complaints implicate “at least 22 victims” who all allegedly suffered sexual assault. Four of them were minors at the time of the alleged events. Nearly half of the alleged events took place in the 1990s.
“Now and subject to the orphans of Duplessis, the facts that are reported are more contemporary”, notes Ms.e Kirouak.
In all cases, the alleged attackers are members of the clergy “who were in office or who still had faculties” at the time of the filing of the complaint to the ombudsman, indicates the latter to the To have to. The victims who denounce are more and more made up of adults, she notes.