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Two alleged victims of sexual abuse by priests in the 1950s and 1960s have launched a class action lawsuit Canada on Friday against the Diocese of Quebec.
The application to institute the class action lawsuit was filed at the Quebec City courthouse on behalf of victims of sexual abuse by clergy.
The Quebec sexual abuse class action lawsuit covers “all persons, as well as their heirs, who were sexually assaulted by members of the clergy or lay pastoral personnel under the responsibility of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Quebec and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Quebec between January 1, 1940 and the judgment yet to be passed.”
Thousands of Potential Sexual Abuse Victims
According to one of the lawyers involved in the Quebec sexual abuse class action lawsuit, statistically, 10% of priests within the Catholic Church commit abuse. Knowing that there was an average of 1,000 active priests on the territory of the Diocese of Quebec during the period covered by the proposed Quebec sexual abuse class action lawsuit, the number of victims could be very high.
Lead plaintiffs, Gaétan Bégin and Pierre Bolduc claim to have been sexually assaulted by priests of the Diocese of Quebec when they were teenagers.
According to lawyers Alain Arsenault and Marc Bellemare, who are leading the Quebec sexual abuse class action lawsuit, many victims of sexual abuse could potentially join the class action lawsuit Canada.
“This could be one of the most important class actions in terms of the number of victims,” Arsenault said.
In 1954, Gaétan Bégin was barely 13 years-old when his parish priest, Rosaire Giguère, allegedly sexually assaulted him.
“When our childhood is stolen from us, we can’t grow old in peace. From now on, I am a father, grandfather and great-grandfather, and my pride will be to be able to tell my descendants that in Quebec, there is a justice system that works and that it protects children,” Gaétan, who is now 80-years-old, added.
According to Alain, there could be thousands of victims in the Quebec sexual abuse class action lawsuit.
“For one victim who denounces, nine don’t, because they are ashamed to tell their story. With this class action, people’s anonymity will be respected and they will be able to unload the burden they have been carrying for years and hand it over to those to whom it belongs: the Diocese of Quebec.”
After learning of the proposed Quebec sexual abuse class action lawsuit, the Diocese of Quebec reportedly indicated that its representatives had undertaken an “internal investigation” and that they would “collaborate with the justice system to shed light on these allegations.”
Limitation Period Abolished: Victims of Sexual Abuse Can Now Join Class Actions
Pierre, one of the lead plaintiffs in the Quebec sexual abuse class action lawsuit, denounced his alleged attacker, Father Jean-Marie Bégin, a decade ago. However, the statute of limitations prevented him from instituting a class action lawsuit Canada, because the abuse occurred over 30 years ago.
“On June 12, the Quebec government abolished this backward law. Out of respect for us, the victims, we ask Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix and the Diocese of Quebec to show compassion by cooperating with the justice system to put an end to this interminable saga,” Pierre told reporters.
The Quebec government finally abolished the statute of limitations on civil proceedings in cases of alleged sexual assault.
Bill 55 amends The Civil Code of Québec to allow victims of sexual assault, childhood violence and spousal abuse to sue their alleged aggressor, no matter how long ago the assault occurred.
Until 2013, the statute of limitations in the province was three years. In 2013 the Parti Québécois government extended the restrictive time limit to 30 years.
Quebec sexual abuse class action lawsuits have made headlines in recent months, among the most recent being the orphanage abuse class action lawsuit against Montreal’s Grey Nuns religious order.
The orphanage abuse class action lawsuit was filed in Quebec Superior Court on behalf of a man who resided at the orphanage for approximately a year in the late 1960s. The man says he endured physical and sexual abuse at the hands of the nuns in charge.
In another similar Quebec sexual abuse class action lawsuit, fifteen victims of alleged sexual assault have made criminal complaints accusing members of the Clerics of St. Viator of sexual abuse.
Five elderly members of the Clerics of St. Viator, a Catholic teaching order, were arrested by Quebec provincial police over the abuse allegations in June.
What do you think of the recent Quebec sexual abuse class action lawsuits? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below!
The lead plaintiffs are represented by Arsenault Dufresne Wee Avocats and Bellemare Avocats law firms.
The Quebec Sexual Abuse Class Action Lawsuit is Gaétan Bégin et Pierre Bolduc v. La Corporation archiépiscopale catholique romaine de Québec et L’Archevêque catholique romain de Québec, Case No. 200-06-000250-202, in the Superior Court of Québec, District of Quebec, Canada.
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