One of the lawyers responsible for the class action lawsuit against the Diocese of Quebec over alleged assaults, including one against Cardinal Ouellet, regretted the church’s silence on the allegations.
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“If [l’Église] is shaken, it doesn’t show much,” Me Alain Arsenault, attorney for the law firm Arsenault Dufresne Wee Avocats, said on QUB radio’s microphone on Wednesday.
It should be remembered that the collective action against the diocese has so far brought together 101 victims denouncing attacks by about 88 priests.
He particularly regretted the lack of comment from the institution since Tuesday’s release of the class action lawsuit, but also during several attempts to contact specific victims directly with the Vatican.
“Respect for the victims, we wonder where it is,” Me Arsenault said. “Since we started filing class action lawsuits against religious organizations, this may have happened to us once or twice. [qu’on ait des retours] and we have about 1,500 victims on our files.”
The lawyer did not say he was surprised when Cardinal Ouellet’s name appeared in that file.
“It affects so many priests and they are people with power, we must not forget that. […] The main characteristic of rulers is that they abuse their power all too often,” he recalled.
Mr Arsenault pointed out that the issue of compensation for the victims will be part of the negotiations that will start next September. However, he has already made it clear that he does not believe the church’s argument that its coffers are empty.
“If the church forgets where their money is, I can help them track it down. […] It’s a smoke show that excels in a negotiation. […] money, they have enough of it. It’s not a problem,” he said.
He nonetheless reiterated that victims remain optimistic and that denunciation is the first step towards healing. “Some will never heal, but engaging in a process is liberating.”
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