Catholic Church to Investigate 60 Years of Child Sex Abuse Allegations in Montreal

Montreal Gazette
March 27, 2019

https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/catholic-church-to-investigate-50-years-of-alleged-child-sex-abuse-in-montreal

The Diocese of Montreal has assigned an independent committee to examine more than six decades of files related to allegations of sexual abuse committed on children by the clergy or church personnel in Montreal-area parishes.

Montreal Archbishop Christian Lepine has asked retired Superior Court justice Anne-Marie Trahan to oversee the investigation, which will also examine files of the dioceses of St-Jerome, Valleyfield, St-Jean-Longueuil and Joliette.

The committee’s work is scheduled to begin in September and it has been granted full access to church files.

Those who say they were victims of the clergy will have 18 to 24 months to share their experiences with the committee.

The committee’s findings will then be forwarded to the Diocese of Montreal, providing it with an overview of the number of priests suspected of the offences, the number of alleged victims and the manner in which their dioceses should proceed.

The final report of the committee will be made public.