MONTRÉAL (QUÉBEC, CANADA)
CTV News and The Canadian Press
February 18, 2018
A Senegalese man is suing a Quebec-based Catholic congregation for $1.4 million, alleging one of its brothers sexually abused him when he was a boy in the 1980s at a school the religious order ran in Africa.
Legal experts consulted by The Canadian Press said they weren’t aware of another case where a Canadian religious organization was taken to court for the alleged actions of its members in another country.
Max Silverman, the Senegalese plaintiff’s Montreal-based lawyer, said the congregation indicated it will contest the Quebec court’s jurisdiction, setting up a legal battle over whether the province is the best place to hear the evidence.
“The other side has made it clear they intend to contest the jurisdiction of the court and that debate will happen in the fall,” said Silverman, who filed the suit on behalf of the man who has chosen to remain anonymous.
Known in court documents as NBS, the plaintiff alleges a now-deceased Quebec member of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart congregation sexually abused him between 1984 and ’87, at a school the order ran in Kaolack, Senegal.
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