See how Oblates dealt with historic claims of sexual assault that have been met with skepticism and hope
An independent inquiry into how the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate handled historic allegations of sexual abuse by a now-retired priest who lived in the Arctic for three decades has been met with both hope and skepticism by Inuit in Nunavut and those who observed his case.
“I’m glad this is being resolved,” Steve Mapsalak said from his home in Naujaat, a hamlet in Nunavut. “It’s an ongoing thing and it’s taking too long for me.”
He said Johannes Rivoire sexually assaulted him when he was 13 years old in Naujaat.
Mapsalak, now 66, said he has waited a long time for the Catholic Church to take some responsibility – not only for what he said he experienced as a victim of Rivoire, but also for what others have experienced. “We’re not just saying we’re victims. It happened,” he said.
Former Quebec Supreme 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 released earlier this month called the commission “an independent review of historic allegations of sexual abuse against Johannes Rivoire in present-day Nunavut.”
In the same statement, Denis said, “I appreciate the opportunity to lead this committee and expect my findings to contribute to a better understanding of this history while positioning the Oblates to set a higher standard of accountability and safety.”
Inuit delegation traveled to France
Mapsalak and three others filed police complaints against Rivoire in 1998, and he was charged by the Nunavut RCMP, but by then he had returned to France.
A Canadian arrest warrant against Rivoire was issued in 1998, but criminal charges related to child sexual abuse were suspended by Canada’s Public Prosecutor’s Office in 2017. It said too much time had passed since the alleged events happened and they were no longer in the public’s interest.
In September 2021, Rivoire, who has resided in France since 1993, was charged again – this time for indecent assault on a girl in Arviat and Whale Cove between 1974 and 1979. That warrant remains in effect. He was then charged in February 2022 with sexually assaulting a female child between 1974 and 1979.
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.
The Federal Ministry of Justice has submitted an extradition request to France on behalf of the Canadian Public Prosecution Service.
Although France has an extradition treaty with Canada, it does not typically extradite its citizens to other countries, and Rivoire does not legally have to return to Canada to face charges.
Last September, Mapsalak, along with an Inuit delegation, traveled to Paris to beg French officials to grant Canada’s extradition request so that Rivoire could face assault charges here.
“There are people who are suffering. We are suffering,” Mapsalak said.
His group was also in France to raise public awareness in the French media of allegations against Rivoire as a way to help them in their cause. But on October 14, France rejected the extradition request.
WARNING: This story contains disturbing details. An Inuit delegation confronted retired priest Johannes Rivoire in France. Rivoire is accused of sexual abuse while working in Nunavut from the 1960s.
‘Transparency and accountability’
Reverend Ken Thorson, chief of Ottawa’s OMI Lacombe county, said Denis’ committee will have full access to records on Rivoire, including allegations against him in both Canada and France.
“We want to better understand how past allegations of community abuse were handled,” he said in an interview with CBC News.
Thorson said Denis was chosen to lead the committee because of his experience presiding over a 2008-2009 trial related to the federal Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, as well as his work in 2020 investigating how the Archdiocese of Montreal and others in Quebec dealt with allegations of child sexual abuse.
He said the former judge will also identify improvements in Oblate’s policies and governance that need to be changed to better protect minors.
“We want to ensure a high level of transparency and accountability,” said Thorson.
Retired priest in retirement home
Lieve Halsberghe, an advocate for people who have been sexually assaulted by the clergy in Belgium, said she does not trust the process.
“Another command, wow. I mean they haven’t learned because they keep repeating the same blah, blah, blah. And this is nothing new. It’s a very old technique they use.”
Halsberghe traveled to France with the Inuit delegation last fall to pressure the government to extradite Rivoire to Canada.
“They have to delay time, we just wait for Rivoire to die,” she said of the former priest, who is in his early 90s and currently lives in a private retirement home in France, according to Thorson.
“Rivoire disappeared in the middle of the night with only a backpack,” Tanya Tungilik told a press conference in Paris last fall. Her late father, Marius Tungilik, also filed a sexual assault charge against Rivoire with the RCMP in Nunavut.
Instead of a review, Halsberghe said she wants Rivoire to face justice. “We’ll have him defend himself in court, you know, the same way we would any other citizen. He is also a Canadian citizen.’
Inuit group hopes revision will bring peace
Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org in Boston, told CBC News that she has seen an increase in independent reviews commissioned by the church over the past 20 years.
“The whole purpose of these reviews – and I’m going to sound a little cynical here – is to quell public outcry. It’s an admission by the church that they’ve received terrible publicity, that there’s substantial evidence that [a] cover-up happened and that they facilitated child sexual abuse,” she said.
Thorson said he understands the skepticism people can have, and said he has had conversations with Indigenous peoples, Church leaders, survivors and their families, along with Catholics, about the many mistakes made throughout the Church’s history.
“I have truly come to believe that there is no atonement without trust, and that there is no cure. And so I do what we can do now – understanding that not everyone will trust or support us, and yet it is what we can do now doing.”
Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, an organization representing Inuit in Canada, issued a statement saying it “looks forward to working with Justice Denis and the Oblates to better understand the decisions that contributed to the unscrupulous situation in which an accused criminal is allowed to evade justice.”
The group said it hopes the review will bring some peace to victims by ensuring that such actions are not repeated.
Three Oblate groups in the Catholic Church say they are launching an independent investigation into how they handled allegations that former missionary Johannes Rivoire allegedly abused Inuit children. Retired Quebec judge André Denis will conduct the assessment.
“I’m very hopeful,” said Steve Mapsalak.
Thorson encourages anyone willing and able to contribute to the committee to email former judge Denis directly j.andredenis@icloud.com.
His final report is expected to be delivered on April 1, 2024 in English, French, and Inuktitut.
