Second class-action suit targets Congrégation de Ste-Croix over abuse

CANADA
Montreal Gazette

BY SUE MONTGOMERY, GAZETTE JUSTICE REPORTER OCTOBER 31, 2013

MONTREAL — After paying $19 million in damages and issuing a lukewarm apology to the men they abused as children in their schools, the Congrégation de Ste-Croix may have to dip into its funds again.

Lawyers representing more alleged victims of the congregation filed a motion Thursday in Quebec Superior Court asking permission for a class-action suit on behalf of people abused in six other institutions run by the congregation’s priests and brothers, including the iconic St-Joseph’s Oratory.

Lawyer Alain Arsenault said 25 people have already come forward since the first lawsuit, which was settled earlier this year.

That class-action suit, which began with just one former student, compensated 206 victims of sexual abuse at the hands of the brothers, each receiving on average $60,890 in damages. The abuse took place in Collège Notre Dame, Collège de St-Césaire and Notre-Dame-de-Pohénégamook, and involved 80 perpetrators who were members of the religious order.

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