Investigations by Radio-Canada’s Enquête has revealed that the Catholic diocese in Hearst-Moosonee, Northern Ontario, protected priests who faced allegations of sexual misconduct for decades.
The alleged abuse involved 12 priests and volunteers who reportedly abused around 40 people from the 1950s to the 2010s. Almost all victims were minors at the time of the alleged abuse. Instead of punishing the priests, some were transferred to other parishes, and some of these transfers happened until the late 2010s.
Although some of the 12 priests are now dead or retired, Enquête found that five priests and volunteers who faced allegations of past misconduct were still working in the diocese until late February 2023.
Hearst-Moosonee is one of Ontario’s most isolated dioceses, and the church remains an important institution in the area, where the church helped to settle the region with a mostly francophone population in the 1920s.
Yves Villeneuve, pictured in December, says he was abused by Remi Lessard, a priest in Hearst in the 1980s. (Carl Modello/Radio-Canada)
The church’s double isolation, both geographical and linguistic, made it an influential player in the region, and it remains involved in several local organizations. London, Ont.-based lawyer Rob Talach, who has frequently sued the Catholic Church over claims of abuse, says that the church’s isolation has helped them get away with abuse for so long.
Enquête’s investigation followed the 2020 arrest and trial of Fernand Villeneuve, a longtime parish priest in Hearst-Moosonee, who was found not guilty of charges of abuse.
The testimonies Enquête collected regarding Villeneuve extend from the 1970s to the 2000s, with three men accusing Villeneuve of masturbating in their presence, and two women of unwanted touching and sexual assault.
Enquête spoke with four other people who claim they suffered voyeurism, exhibitionism or sexual touching when they were children or adolescents at the hands of Catholic priest Roger Pronovost, pictured here in December 2022. (Carl Mondello/Radio-Canada)
Other priests faced similar allegations, and complainants who spoke to Enquête said they denounced other priests over the years to the diocese but to little effect.
The investigation identified four other people who claim they suffered voyeurism, exhibitionism or sexual touching when they were children or adolescents at the hands of Roger Pronovost, who later became a priest and worked in several parishes in the diocese.
Although Pronovost was charged with sexual assault, he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of assault on a minor in 2016. Instead of being reprimanded, the diocese moved him to Mattice, Ont., where he worked until he retired in 2019.
The appearance of the “old kind man” in these cases is deceiving, according to Talach, who has been called a “priest hunter” because of all the Catholic clergy he has sued. He says, “they’re monsters because of the devastation they do to the young.”
Yves Villeneuve, who says he was abused by another priest in the town of Hearst in the 1980s, Remi Lessard, recounted how he was abused and how his complaints to the police and two bishops led to nothing.
No charges were ever laid against Lessard, and it was not until Villeneuve secretly recorded him in a meeting with him and the bishop that the church agreed to pay Villeneuve $75,000 without admitting any wrongdoing.
The current Bishop of Hearst-Moosonee, Pierre Olivier Tremblay, who was named to the post last August, launched an internal investigation after Enquête informed him of the allegations.
Three priests and two volunteers who were still working in the diocese and faced allegations have been either relieved of their duties or fired due to those internal investigations in the two months since his interview. However, for some, it is too little, too late.
Tremblay acknowledged that the diocese’s actions in the past have caused “irreparable harm” and that the current administration is committed to transparency and accountability.
He stated that the diocese will work to ensure that survivors receive the support they need and that steps are taken to prevent abuse from occurring in the future.
The Enquête investigation has prompted calls for the Catholic Church in Canada to release its records on abuse cases. In a statement, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops expressed regret for the harm caused by abuse within the Church and stated that they are committed to working towards healing and reconciliation with survivors.
However, some critics have argued that the Church’s response has not been adequate, with some survivors calling for an independent investigation and the release of all records related to abuse cases.
The Enquête investigation has shed light on the need for greater accountability and transparency within the Church, as well as the importance of supporting survivors and preventing abuse from occurring in the future.
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