OTTAWA (CANADA)
Canadian Catholic News
May 2, 2019
By Deborah Gyapong
Canada’s Catholic bishops and religious men and women have condemned the clerical abuse of women religious in the wake of a French documentary that was aired on television in Quebec.
The April 25 statement from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) and the Canadian Religious Conference (CRC) coincided with the airing of a two-part documentary on the sexual abuse of nuns and religious sisters by priests on the French-language channel RDI. The documentary first aired in France on March 5.
“This is a worldwide tragedy acknowledged by Pope Francis and the International Union of Women Superiors General,” the statement said in acknowledging the accusations in the documentary. “This report, like other media reports, highlights the particular vulnerability of young religious women in the Western world, but most importantly the global south.”
The CCCB and CRC “unreservedly condemn these wrongdoings and insist that the perpetrators must be investigated and judged by appropriate civil and ecclesiastical authorities,” said the statement.
The documentary told the stories of several women religious, some from France who were seduced by their priest spiritual director, others by a priest associated with a L’Arche community there. A woman religious from Montreal named Lucie said she was regularly abused by a priest, but was told to “turn the page” and “forget about it.”
Sr. Marie-Paul Ross, a psychotherapist in Quebec, said on the documentary a predator priest had confessed that women religious who became pregnant were forced to have abortions.
The documentary covered abuse by priests in the Community of St. Jean exposed in 2013.
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