Review into how Oblates handled historical sexual assault claims being met with skepticism, hope

— Retired priest Johannes Rivoire worked in Canada’s Arctic from 1960s to 1993

Johannes Rivoire, a retired priest living in France, is shown in Arviat, Nunavut, in 1979. Rivoire, who lived in Canada’s Arctic for 30 years, faced sexual abuse charges in the late 1990s, but they were stayed in 2017. He was also charged in 2021 and 2022, but France denied an extradition request.

By Juanita Taylor

An independent review looking into how the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate handled historical allegations of sexual abuse by a now-retired priest who lived in the Arctic for three decades is being met with both hope and skepticism by Inuit in Nunavut and those who have been observing his case.

“I’m glad this is going to be dealt with,” said Steve Mapsalak from his home in Naujaat, a hamlet in Nunavut. “It’s an ongoing thing and taking too long for me.”

He said Johannes Rivoire sexually abused him when he was 13 years old in Naujaat.

Now 66, Mapsalak said he has been waiting a long time for the Catholic Church to take some responsibility — not only for what he said he’s experienced as a victim of Rivoire, but for what others have gone through as well. “We are not just saying that we are victims. It happened,” he said.

Former Quebec Superior Court justice André Denis has been appointed by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, OMI Lacombe Canada and the Oblates of the Province of France to lead the Oblate Safeguarding Commission.

A statement issued earlier this month called the commission “an independent review of historical allegations of sexual abuse against Johannes Rivoire in present-day Nunavut.”

In the same statement, Denis said, “I appreciate the opportunity to lead this commission and expect that my findings will contribute to greater understanding of this history, while positioning the Oblates to set a higher standard of accountability and safety.”

A man with white hair is wearing a dark blazer and light-blue shirt.
Former Quebec Superior Court justice André Denis has been appointed to lead an independent review that will examine how the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate handled historical allegations of sexual abuse by Rivoire.

Inuit delegation travelled to France

Mapsalak and three others filed complaints against Rivoire with the police in 1998, and he was charged by the Nunavut RCMP, but by then he had returned in France.

A Canadian warrant was issued for Rivoire’s arrest in 1998, but criminal charges related to the sexual abuse of children were stayed in 2017 by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada. It said too much time had passed since the alleged events occurred, and they were no longer in the interest of the public.

In September 2021, Rivoire, who has been in France since 1993, was charged again — this time with one count of indecent assault of a girl in Arviat and Whale Cove between 1974 and 1979. That arrest warrant remains active. Then, in February 2022, he was charged with sexually assaulting a female child between 1974 and 1979.

A woman with grey hair and glasses, wearing a blue and white striped shirt, stands beside a man with black hair and a moustache, wearing a grey shirt.
Elizabeth and Steve Mapsalak are shown in Montreal before flying to France in September 2022. The couple travelled with a delegation of Inuit to implore French officials to grant Canada’s request to extradite Rivoire so he can face sexual assault charges here.

Rivoire, who was ordained in France in 1958 and lives in Lyon, France, has denied any wrongdoing. His first posting as a Catholic priest was in Igloolik, Nunavut, from 1960-65 — followed by Repulse Bay (now Naujaat) from 1965-74, and Eskimo Point, now Arviat, from 1974-93.

An extradition request was made to France by the federal Department of Justice on behalf of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada.

While France has an extradition treaty with Canada, it does not typically extradite its citizens to other countries, and Rivoire doesn’t legally have to return to Canada to face charges.

Last September, Mapsalak, along with a delegation of Inuit, travelled to Paris to implore French officials to grant Canada’s extradition request so that Rivoire can face the sexual assault charges here.

“There are people suffering. We are suffering,” Mapsalak said.

His group was also in France to raise public awareness in the French media about allegations against Rivoire as a way to aid them in their cause. But on Oct. 14, France denied the extradition request.

‘Transparency and accountability’

Rev. Ken Thorson, head of the OMI Lacombe Province in Ottawa, said Denis’s commission will have full access to records on Rivoire, including allegations made against him in both Canada and France.

“We want to better understand how past allegations of abuse were addressed within the community,” he said in an interview with CBC News.

A man with greyish hair, wearing glasses and a grey shirt and jacket, stands in front of a crucifix on a wall.
Rev. Ken Thorson, head of the OMI Lacombe Province in Ottawa, says he’s had conversations with Indigenous people, church leaders, survivors and their families, along with Catholics, about the many mistakes that were made in the church’s history.

Thorson said Denis was chosen to lead the commission because of his experience presiding over a trial in 2008-09 involving the federal Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, as well as for his work in 2020 examining how the Archdiocese of Montreal and others in Quebec handled allegations of sexual abuse of minors.

He said the former judge will also identify improvements in Oblate policies and governance that need to be changed to better safeguard minors.

“We want to ensure a high level of transparency and accountability,” Thorson said.

Retired priest in elder-care facility

Lieve Halsberghe, an advocate for people who have been sexually abused by the clergy in Belgium, said she doesn’t trust the process.

“Another commission, wow. I mean, they haven’t learned because they keep on repeating the same blah, blah, blah. And this is not a new thing. It’s a very old technique that they use.”

A woman with long brownish hair wears an orange shirt.
Lieve Halsberghe, an advocate for people who have been sexually abused by the clergy, is shown at the train station in Lyon, France, last September. Instead of a review, she wants Rivoire to face justice.

Halsberghe travelled to France with the Inuit delegation last fall to pressure the government to extradite Rivoire to Canada.

“They have to stall time, we’re just waiting for Rivoire to die,” she said of the former priest, who is in his early 90s and currently living in a privately run elder-care centre in France, according to Thorson.

“Rivoire disappeared in the middle of the night with just a backpack,” Tanya Tungilik told a news conference in Paris last fall. Her late father, Marius Tungilik, also filed a sexual assault complaint against Rivoire with the RCMP in Nunavut.

Instead of a review, Halsberghe said she wants Rivoire to face justice. “We will let him defend himself in a court of law, you know, at the same standard of every other citizen. He’s also a Canadian citizen.”

Inuit group hopes review will bring peace

Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org in Boston, told CBC News that over the last 20 years, she’s seen an increase in independent reviews commissioned by the church.

“The whole purpose of these reviews — and I’m going to sound a little cynical here — is to quell public outrage. It’s a recognition by the church that they have received terrible publicity, that there is substantial evidence that [a] coverup happened and that they enabled the sexual abuse of children,” she said.

A building behind a stone wall.
The Inuit delegation from Canada met with the Oblates at the Provincial House of Oblates in Lyon during their trip to France last September.

Thorson said he understands the skepticism that people may have, saying he’s had conversations with Indigenous people, church leaders, survivors and their families, along with Catholics, about the many mistakes that were made in the church’s history.

“I really have come to believe that there’s no reconciliation without trust, and there’s no healing possible. And so I’m doing what we’re able to do right now — understanding that not everybody is going to be trusting or supportive of us, and yet it’s what we can do right now.”

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, an organization that represents Inuit in Canada, issued a statement that says it is “looking forward to engaging with Justice Denis and the Oblates to achieve a greater understanding of the decisions that contributed to the unconscionable situation of an accused criminal being allowed to evade justice.”

The group said it hopes the review will bring a small measure of peace to victims through an assurance that such actions aren’t repeated.

“I’m very hopeful,” Steve Mapsalak said.

Thorson is encouraging anyone who is willing and able to contribute to the commission to email former justice Denis directly at  j.andredenis@icloud.com.

His final report is expected to be delivered in English, French and Inuktitut by April 1, 2024.

Complete Article HERE!

Oblates paying legal bill for accused priest in Manitoba

— Fr. Arthur Massé has pleaded not guilty to one count of indecent assault


Catholic priest Arthur Massé (right) leaves court in Winnipeg with his lawyer George Green.

By Kathleen Martens

This story contains details about child abuse that may be distressing to some viewers. Canada’s National Residential School Crisis Line is available 24 hours a day at 1-866-925-4419.


An order of Roman Catholic priests is picking up the legal tab for one of its own on trial for historical sexual abuse at a residential school in Manitoba.

Fr. Ken Thorson, spokesperson for Oblates of Mary Immaculate Lacombe (OMI), said his Ottawa-based order is supplying the defence lawyer for Fr. Arthur Massé.

“Yes, Arthur Massé is an Oblate priest,” Thorson confirmed in an email to APTN News. “It’s important to remember that Oblates take a vow of poverty – where they own nothing as individuals and share everything in common.

“As part of this commitment, they are provided with basic supports in retirement, even if they have been removed from active ministry.”

Thorson noted these “basic supports include legal representation, in the interest of ensuring a fair trial. We recognize that this may be unsettling to some and want to be clear that we make no assumption of innocence in fulfilling our obligations.”

Fr. Ken Thorson is the provincial superior of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate based in Ottawa.

Massé, 93, has pleaded not guilty to one count of indecent assault after a female student alleged he attacked her in a girls’ bathroom when she was 10 years old.

He wore his clerical collar to court and while testifying on his own behalf.

Grandmother Victoria McIntosh told court that Massé pushed open a bathroom stall door, grabbed and lifted her up, pinned her against the wall and tried to fondle her with his other hand. She said she managed to turn her head and get away while he landed a kiss on her cheek.

Massé was either an administrator or teacher at the time in Fort Alexander School on what is now Sagkeeng First Nation, located about an hour northeast of Winnipeg.

Justice Candace Grammond has said she will deliver her decision on March 30 after the two-day trial concluded March 8.

Victoria McIntosh alleges she was indecently assaulted by a priest about 50 years ago.

Massé told court he worked at three residential schools in Canada for OMI, which staffed 48 residential schools across Canada – more than any other religious entity. The schools were run by churches and founded, built and funded by the federal government for more than 100 years as a means to assimilate Inuit, Métis and First Nations children into western society.

An estimated 150,000 Indigenous children were taken from their families and forced into the government’s day and residential school system. Many have alleged they were mentally, physically and sexually abused.

Only a handful of priests have been charged and convicted, something Thorson said he is aware of.

“Clergy sexual abuse is a tragedy and we apologize to anyone who has had their safety and inherent dignity offended by an Oblate,” he wrote to APTN. “We believe that any allegations of this nature should be thoroughly and transparently investigated by secular authorities. To that end, our safeguarding policy outlines mandatory reporting requirements and guidelines for cooperation with law enforcement.”

Thorson said OMI did its own investigation in collaboration with the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (monitoring committee) and Massé was immediately removed from public ministry and placed under active monitoring.

The Fort Alexander Residential School operated from 1905 to 1970 on the Sagkeeng First Nation in Manitoba.

“As the legal process progresses, we will continue to cooperate with a goal of supporting those who have brought complaints forward in pursuit of justice and accountability,” Thorson added.

APTN Investigates found OMI was put in charge of 14 residential schools in Manitoba. There were 139 schools in Canada.

Investigates discovered 82 Catholic priests and nuns from OMI and the Missionary Oblates Sisters were named as alleged abusers in Manitoba residential schools, resulting in 146 lawsuits.

Court documents reveal the Fort Alexander Indian Residential School housed more than 70 alleged abusers from the 1930s to the 1960s.

Massé, who was charged in June 2022 with the one count of indecent assault, was accused of physical and sexual abuse in five separate lawsuits from 1998 to 2006.

Complete Article HERE!

Traumas ‘remain to be healed,’ Regina archdiocese says after Lebret residential school discovery

— Lebret Indian Residential School was run by the Roman Catholic Church through the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate from 1884 to 1973.

The Star Blanket Cree Nation, northeast of Regina, has announced the discovery of possible graves after a ground-penetrating radar search of the former site of the Qu’Appelle Indian Residential School. Aboriginal students, principal Father Joseph Hugonnard, and staff, including the Grey Nuns, of the industrial School are shown in Fort Qu’Appelle, Sask., in this May 1885 file photo.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Regina says it stands with the Star Blanket Cree Nation and all those affected by the the recent discovery of human remains on the grounds of the former Lebret Indian Residential School, and it understands that the findings are deeply traumatizing.

The First Nation in Saskatchewan said on Thursday that ground-penetrating radar discovered more than 2,000 areas of interest and a child’s bone was separately found at the site of one of the longest-running residential schools in the country.

The school was one of the first three to open in Canada and was run by the Roman Catholic Church through the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate from 1884 to 1973.

It operated for another 25 years until it closed in 1998.

“It is especially difficult to hear that it is the remains of a child that have been found,” the Catholic Archdiocese of Regina said in a statement. “It is a painful reminder of all the children who did not return home from residential schools.

“Each finding like this can reopen wounds and resurface inter-generational trauma for survivors and loved ones pointing us to the challenges and hurts that remain to be healed.”

An estimated 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend residential schools over a century in Canada and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report detailed that many experienced emotional, physical, sexual and spiritual abuse.

The school had a reputation for strict religious instruction, strenuous physical labour and physical abuse. Survivors told the commission about extended periods of kneeling, beds being pushed over with kids still on top and slaps across the face. One survivor shared how he saw a fellow student tied to a heat register.

The school often had outbreaks of disease and a high mortality rate, the commission’s report found. Louise Moine wrote about tuberculosis rampaging through the school in her memoir.

“There was a death every month on the girls’ side and some of the boys went also,” Moine wrote.

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation has a record of 56 student deaths at the school.

Sharon Strongarm, a survivor of the school, held back tears Thursday as she explained how she was taken from her parents. She said she and her siblings had to learn to survive and to forgive.

“They tried to take our spirits away. They tried to take the Indian out of us,” she said. “But thank the Creator we are back here, strong as we will ever be, helping each other.”

The community is looking to expand its search areas and have approval from some nearby landowners to start work in the spring. They are also looking to excavate two unexpected rooms that were located underground during the initial search, project lead Sheldon Poitras said.

Areas for the search were selected after testimonials from former students and elders who witnessed or heard stories of what happened at the residential school about 75 kilometres northeast of Regina.

The jawbone fragment, found last October, was identified by the province’s coroner’s service to be that of a child between the ages of four and six from about 125 years ago. It was not located anywhere near an area that was known to be a graveyard.

“This is physical proof of an unmarked grave,” Poitras said.

Poitras said his team is looking at options, including miniature core drilling to enable DNA testing, to confirm what is there.

He said the area where the school was located makes it difficult to do ground-penetrating radar and they don’t believe all areas of interest are unmarked graves.

The institution was burned down and rebuilt twice.

Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller said on social media that the “finding of human remains of a very young child at the site of Lebret Residential School is not only a tragic reminder of Canada’s painful history and of the heinous acts that were committed in residential schools, it’s further proof of that.”

Star Blanket Cree Nation Chief Michael Starr said last week it shows the harsh truth of what happened within the walls of the Qu’Appelle Indian Residential School.

“It was unthinkable. It was profound. It was sad. It was hurtful,” Starr said. “And it made us very angry what had happened to our young people here.”

The Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program has a hotline to help residential school survivors and their relatives suffering trauma invoked by the recall of past abuse. The number is 1-866-925-4419.

Complete Article HERE!

Catholic order hires independent monitor to oversee members convicted of sex crimes

— Survivors question why Oblates of Mary Immaculate isn’t identifying the overseer

Ken Thorson, provincial leader of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, said it was decided not to release the name of the third party monitor because their work is ‘sensitive.’

By Ben Andrews

The Oblates of Mary Immaculate, a Catholic order that operated 48 of Canada’s residential schools, has hired an independent third party to oversee efforts to ensure members who have committed sex crimes do not reoffend.

Some sexual assault survivors have praised the hiring as a positive development — but have also criticized the Oblate’s decision to withhold the monitor’s name.

Tony Charlie, who was sexually assaulted by an Oblate brother during his time at Kuper Island Residential School starting in the mid-1960s, said the hiring of an independent monitor is “a good step.”

He also said it’s impossible to confirm that the monitor is truly independent if the Oblates are unwilling to release the hire’s name.

“We have no clue who this person is,” he said. “It’s very important that these abusers be accountable and visible and probably monitored closely.”

Tony Charlie, a survivor of the Kuper Island Residential School in British Columbia, poses for a photo.
Charlie says the hire is ‘a good step’ but adds he has little faith in the church.

The Oblates hired the monitor in December 2022 and expect he will begin monthly meetings later this month.

The monitor will meet with Oblates who are convicted sex offenders — men who abused children in residential schools, northern Indigenous communities and various parishes across the country.

A CBC investigation in June 2022 confirmed that at least nine such offenders had taken refuge at the Springhurst retirement residence in Ottawa after being released from prison.

“Our concern is to ensure good oversight, appropriate external oversight,” said Ken Thorson, provincial leader of the Oblates.

“[We] want to find the person who we felt was going to provide us with the accountability that we need to ensure that we’re doing what we’re meant to do.”

The monitor will be reporting to a misconduct advisory team that may advise changes to an offending Oblate’s safety plan, if deemed necessary.

CBC has confirmed at least nine convicted sex offenders have taken refuge at the Springhurst residence in Ottawa.

Monitor ‘has no connections’ to Oblates: Thorson

When asked why the Oblates aren’t identifying the monitor, Thorson instead described the monitor’s work history, which includes investigating workplace harassment and abuse in organizations ranging from large corporations to social services agencies and Indigenous communities.

Thorson said the monitor “has no connections” to the Oblates, but he refused to identify the person.

“For the sake of the work, for the sake of the people that he’s working with, we’ve chosen at this time not to release the name,” Thorson said.

He added that the Oblates “might be willing” to consider sharing the name of the third party monitor with some survivors to assure them the hire is indeed independent.

Other survivors who spoke to CBC also said they’d like the name to be released.

Leona Huggins, a founding member of Advocates for Clergy Trauma Survivors in Canada, was sexually assaulted by an Oblate priest in the 1970s.

Huggins was sexually assaulted by a priest as a young girl and is now an advocate for others who’ve been abused by Catholic Church clergy in Canada.

Huggins said she is aware of other instances where the Catholic Church has assured people it is making an “arm’s length” hire, but the person has turned out to have close connections to the church.

“Without knowing the name of the person, it’s hard to trust that they can be fully independent,” she said.

Zach Hiner, executive director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said survivors of clergy abuse are often promised action, only to be disappointed by a lack of follow-through.

“Survivors who were abused by someone in the Oblates would probably be looking at this with a little bit of hope and a lot of skepticism,” he said.

Thorson said he is “always willing” to be in touch with survivors and has listened to their stories in the past.

“People have suffered — children and vulnerable people have suffered at the hands of Oblates,” he said. “Making amends for the sins of our community is the most important work that I do.”

But for Charlie, those efforts have fallen short.

“Not one of them has stepped forward to help us heal. None of them have checked up on us,” Charlie said. “I really don’t have faith in them right now.”

Complete Article HERE!

France won’t extradite retired priest Johannes Rivoire, accused of sexually abusing Inuit children

Public Prosecution Service of Canada says there’s still a ‘reasonable’ chance Rivoire can be prosecuted

Johannes Rivoire in Arviat in 1979.

By Amy Tucker

France will not extradite a priest facing historical sexual assault charges in Nunavut, but there’s still a chance he could be prosecuted in Canada by other means.

A news release Wednesday from the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) says French authorities denied the extradition request for Johannes Rivoire on Oct. 14.

The extradition request was made by the federal Department of Justice on behalf of the PPSC.

French authorities said there are two reasons the request is being denied.

The first relates to French law — France can’t extradite its own citizens.

“France has determined that at the relevant time Mr. Rivoire was a citizen of France,” the release said.

The second reason, which also falls under French law, is because “too much time” passed between the events and the charges being laid.

That’s also the reason French authorities said they could not prosecute Rivoire in France.

Rivoire was charged this past February with one count of indecent assault on a female, who was child at the time of the alleged offence. It happened between January 1974 and December 1979.

Allegations against him date much further back, though — previous charges against him had been outstanding for years but were stayed in 2017.

People in Nunavut have spent nearly two decades pushing for Rivoire to be extradited.

An Inuit delegation travelled to France in September to implore French officials to grant Canada’s extradition request. They also confronted the retired priest while there.

Tanya Tungilik, who was part of the delegation and whose father Marius Tungilik had accused Rivoire of sexual abuse, said at the time it was “liberating” to finally tell Rivoire the things she has wanted to say for so long.

In an interview with CBC Wednesday, she called the denied extradition request “a gut punch” but not totally shocking.

“I wasn’t really surprised,” Tungilik said.

She’s still hoping that people in Nunavut who allege abuse by Rivoire, especially between 1990 and 1993, come forward. That way she said, it’s possible charges could be laid against him.

“Then that will still give us a chance to bring it to court in France within their statute of limitations,” Tungilik said. “I’m still hoping for that.”

Tungilik said she also wants to see a lawsuit against the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, “or those who aided and abetted the abusers.”

Three people sit on chairs with their hands in their laps.
Steve Mapsalak, left, Tanya Tungilik and Jesse Tungilik spoke to reporters in Lyon, France, in September about their meeting with Johannes Rivoire.

He’s accused of sexual abuse of several other people as well who were children at the time, carried out while he worked in Nunavut starting in the 1960s.

Prosecution in Canada could be possible if Rivoire leaves France

Rivoire has repeatedly said he has no intention of coming back to Canada, and has denied the charges of abusing Inuit children.

The news release from the PPSC said “all potential legal recourse” to obtain Rivoire’s extradition from France or to have him prosecuted in France have been exhausted.

However, the PPSC said it is working with the RCMP for Interpol to issue a red notice. That would allow for Rivoire to be arrested in any other country.

“Therefore, prosecution in Canada remains possible if Johannes Rivoire leaves France,” the release said.

Tungilik said she’s not overly confident on this plan, especially because she doubts Rivoire will leave the country willingly.

Both the prosecution file and a warrant for Rivoire’s arrest remain active.

Complete Article HERE!