Canada has requested the extradition of a French priest accused of sexually assaulting Inuit children more than 30 years ago, who has become for many a symbol of impunity within the Church, confirmed on Thursday 4 August, Canadian Minister of Justice David Lametti.
“I am aware of the fact that an extradition request transmitted to France has been made public, which the officials of my ministry have just confirmed”said the federal minister in an email sent to Agence France-Presse (AFP), refusing to give more details. “It is important to Canada and its international partners that serious crimes are fully investigated and prosecuted”he added.
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed having received this request, “being processed by the Ministry of Justice”.
This announcement comes as Pope Francis has just completed a trip to Canada marked by requests for forgiveness addressed to indigenous peoples.
Father Joannes Rivoire, who spent three decades in Canada’s Far North, has been the subject of an arrest warrant in Canada since February, after a new complaint was filed in September 2021 for a sexual assault that occurred there. about forty-seven years old. He has so far never been charged and the authorities have not specified the total number of his alleged victims.
The nonagenarian proclaims his innocence
Joannes Rivoire had already been the subject of an arrest warrant between 1998 and 2017 for sexual assaults against three minors. It was never acted upon.
The priest left Canada in 1993 and now lives in France, in Lyon. But Mr. Rivoire, who has dual nationality, represents ” a problematic “ because he is ” very complicated “ to extradite French people, a source familiar with the matter told AFP.
The nonagenarian, recently questioned by the media, proclaims his innocence. In the Canadian Far North, his case remains emblematic of the impunity of sexual aggressors in the Church.
“We would like Rivoire to be extradited to Canada to face his charges in court and we have asked the Pope to intervene to ask him to return to Canada”told AFP Kilikvak Kabloona, a representative of the Inuit of Nunavut, during the visit of the sovereign pontiff.