Northern Ontario diocese ignored decades of sexual misconduct allegations against priests, volunteers

WARNING: This article contains graphic content and may affect those who have experienced​ ​​​sexual violence or know someone affected by it. 

A Catholic diocese in Northern Ontario protected priests who faced allegations of sexual misconduct for decades, an investigation by Radio-Canada's Enquête has found. 

From the 1950s to the 2010s, 12 priests and volunteers are said to have abused some 40 people; almost all were minors at the time. Rather than being punished, some priests were transferred to other parishes, with these transfers happening well into the 2010s. 

The diocese, now known as Hearst-Moosonee, is about 11 hours north of Toronto and comprises about two dozen parishes, many along the northern edge of Highway 11, deep in the boreal forest. 

Hearst-Moosonee is one of Ontario's most isolated dioceses, and the church remains an important institution there. It also helped settle the area with a mostly francophone population in the 1920s. This double isolation — geographical and linguistic — made the church an influential player in the region, and it remains involved in several local organizations.

"I think you can get away with more when you're hidden up in Francophone Ontario. It isn't going to be picked up by the Anglophone mainstream media. There isn't going to be as much attention," said Rob Talach, a London, Ont.-based lawyer who has frequently sued the Catholic Church over claims of abuse.

Today, some of the 12 priests are either dead or retired, but Enquête found that five priests and volunteers who faced allegations of past misconduct still worked in the diocese up until late February 2023. 

The 2020 arrest and trial on charges of abuse of Fernand Villeneuve, a longtime parish priest in Hearst-Moosonee, shocked many people in the area and prompted Enquête to dig further. 

Villeneuve was found not guilty. 

Enquête found other allegations of abuse going back decades – not only against Villeneuve, but other priests, too.

The testimonies Enquête collected regarding Villeneuve extend from the 1970s to the 2000s. Enquête spoke to three men who accused Villeneuve of masturbating in their presence. 

Enquête also spoke with two women, who CBC agreed not to identify out of concern for their privacy. One complained of unwanted touching by Villeneuve and the other of sexual assault.

Villeneuve didn't reply to Enquête's request for comment. 

The complainants who spoke to Enquête say they denounced other priests over the years to the diocese — to little effect.