Commission seeks to hear from those who allege abuse from Rivoire

A group of Oblates wants to hear from anybody who has made allegations of sexual abuse against former Nunavut parish priest Rev. Johannes Rivoire.

The Oblates of Mary Immaculate has convened a safeguarding commission tasked with looking into how the Catholic Church responded to those allegations and the circumstances under which Rivoire, who worked as a priest in Nunavut from 1960 to 1992, left Canada.

Nunavut MP Lori Idlout said she is thankful for the development as an opportunity to get closure. But, she cautioned, it could also open old wounds.

“I hope the commission [speaks] to all the victims that have brought forward [allegations],” she said.

The commission seeks to speak to victims, but also to people affected by the Church’s failure to act when allegations first came to light.

While Rivoire was first charged with sex crimes against youths in the early 1990s, the first allegations go back decades prior.

It’s also unclear why the charges against Rivoire laid in the 1990s only surfaced in media reports in 2013, well after he had left Canada and was out of reach from the country’s court system.

Those charges were stayed in 2017 and RCMP laid a new charge in February 2022.

In September 2022, a delegation of victims and victims’ families went to France hoping to pressure the Church and the French government to send 92-year-old Rivoire to Canada to face the new charge against him.

That visit was integral to the establishment of the safeguarding commission, according to Rev. Ken Thorson, the head of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate Lacombe Canada.

The commission will be given free rein to examine historical church documents in Canada and France whether they are related to Rivoire or not.

“[It’s been] called for by the Inuit community. Once again, there’s no reconciliation without truth,” Thorson said.

Still an Oblate

Meanwhile, other promises made by the French Oblates have seemingly stalled.

During the September 2022 visit, Rev. Vincent Gruber, head of the French Oblate order, told reporters he intended to petition the Church to have Rivoire removed from the Oblates, a process he said at the time could take up to three months.

That official request has been made, Thorson told Nunatsiaq News last week when asked for an update. However, the French Oblates have not received a response.

Until action is taken by the official head of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate — Superior General Rev. Luis Ignacio Rois Alonso in Rome — Rivoire will continue to be an Oblate.

However, the French Oblates ended Rivoire’s ability to practise his official duties as a priest about 10 years ago. He cannot act as a priest in any official capacity, and is not supported financially by the Oblates. Rivoire lives in a privately run elder care facility.

Seeking accountability

Others shared reactions of hope over the establishment of the safeguarding commission.

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami spokesperson Patricia D’Souza reiterated her organization’s work to bring Rivoire to Canada to face the charge against him.

“We look forward to engaging with Justice André Denis,” the retired Quebec Superior Court judge tasked with leading the investigation, said D’Souza in a statement.

“To achieve a greater understanding of the decisions that contributed to the unconscionable situation of an accused criminal being allowed to evade justice.”

Nunavut Sen. Dennis Patterson shared a similar sentiment.

“One of the successes of the NTI mission to France is that Oblates accepted some accountability for harbouring what some would describe as a fugitive from the law,” he said.

Nunatasiaq News tried to reach NTI for comment. In an email, a spokesperson replied: “NTI needs time to review and will not be commenting at this time.”

Judge André Denis can be reached directly via email at: j.andredenis@icloud.com.

The commission’s findings are scheduled to be released in a final public report in English, French and Inuktitut by April 1, 2024.