MONTREAL (CANADA)
Catholic News Service
March 27, 2019
By Francois Gloutnay
Five dioceses from the province of Quebec will allow an external audit of their files regarding sex abuse cases, the Archdiocese of Montreal announced March 27.
In September, retired Quebec Superior Court Judge Anne-Marie Trahan will be able to consult the regular and secret files of five Catholic dioceses in the greater Montreal area, confirmed Montreal Archbishop Christian Lepine.
Archbishop Lepine said Trahan will be able to count on the full cooperation of the authorities of the dioceses of Montreal, Joliette, Saint-Jean-Longueuil, Saint-Jerome and Valleyfield and that she will have “complete access” the records of priests and diocesan staff for the past 70 years.
As part of the review, abuse survivors will be invited to come forward and tell their stories.
Trahan will have to submit a report within two years that will indicate “the number and nature of allegations of sexual abuse of minors by members of the Roman Catholic clergy and their staff from 1950 to the present day,” Archbishop Lepine told journalists.
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