Quebec Abuse Victims Support Cardinal Ouellet As the Next Pope

By Arthur Weinreb
Digital Journal
March 11, 2013

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/345373


A Quebec victims group would like to see Marc Cardinal Ouellet succeed Pope Benedict as the next head of the Catholic Church. But the reasons for their support are not exactly complimentary to the 68-year-old cleric. A small rally was held yesterday outside a Montreal church. Some protesters wore white paper hats similar to mitres worn by Bishops saying, "Vote for Ouellet." At the rally, the Quebec Association of Victims announced their support for the Quebec cardinal to become the next pontiff. The group was, and is, critical of Ouellet for not doing enough to help those who were victimized by the church. Since Pope Benedict announced his resignation last month, Ouellet's name has been included in a list of serious contenders to succeed Benedict. In supporting the cardinal, the group does not believe he is necessarily the best candidate for the job. The group believes if Ouellet becomes the next pope, international attention will be focused on Quebec and this will put the abuse suffered by their 3,500 members in the international spotlight. Carlo Tarini, spokesman for the association, told The Gazette, "We are not being facetious, we are all for his election as pope. What we hope is they [journalists] will note is the No. 1 problem with the Catholic Church which is the problem of pedophile priests. We want them to hear our claim that Quebec is a paradise for pedophile priests and how we knocked at [Ouellet's] door in the past." Since Pope Benedict resigned and Ouellet's name was mentioned as a possible successor, journalists have gone to the cardinal's hometown of La Motte. Not all victims groups in the province think Ouellet's election as pope would make a difference. Lucien Landry, head of a group of Quebec orphans said, "In our heart of hearts, we don't think he would fix the situation." Landry added while the cardinal was archbishop of Quebec City, he made no effort to meet with victims of sexual abuse. Luc-Robert Archambault, a representative of a Montreal boys-only boarding school where some of the students were sexually abused, agreed saying nothing will change if Ouellet becomes the next pope. Frank Tremblay was repeatedly raped by priest Raymond-Marie Lavoie. In 2011, Lavoie pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting 13 boys including Tremblay. Tremblay said, "He [Ouellet] never apologized here for what the Catholic church did to the victims. He was at the top of the Canadian church and he did nothing." The U.S. based organization, Survivor Network of those abused by Priests (SNAP), came out with a list of 12 cardinals eligible to be elected the next pope and referred to them as the "Dirty Dozen." Ouellet was included in the 12 for his refusal to meet with victims of church abuse. The term "Dirty Dozen" is a crude expression when translated into French and Quebec Catholics were outraged. On Friday SNAP apologized saying they did not have the personnel to examine what the term would translate into various languages. The conclave to elect the next pope begins tomorrow.