A group of Canadian Inuit are in France this week to press the Macron government to extradite a retired Catholic priest. The priest is accused of sexual abuse.
The allegations come from a time Fr Johannes Rivoire (93) was working for the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Canada’s northern regions.
The Inuit group’s trip to France comes hard on the heels of Pope Francis’s July visit to Canada. He made the visit to apologise for the Church’s role in abusing indigenous children at government residential schools.
Several Inuit took the opportunity to ask Francis to use his influence to return Rivoire from his residence in Lyon, France. Canadian police had laid a sexual assault charge against him in February.
Inuit organisation Nunavut Tunngavik Inc (NTI) arranged this week’s trip.
One of the NTI delegation members is Tanya Tungilik, whose late father Marius Tungilik said Rivoire and other clergy sexually abused him.
She said she has written to Macron and other government officials requesting meetings.
The NTI also hopes to speak with Rivoire.
“It means a lot for me and my family to get closure,” Tungilik said. “He ruined our family.”
News outlets in July reported Rivoire as saying he would not return to Canada.
Canada has asked France to extradite Rivoire, who has both French and Canadian citizenship. The countries’ extradition treaty, however, says neither country is bound to extradite its own nationals.
France’s prime minister and justice ministry have not responded to media requests for comment.
Police laid three sex-related charges against Rivoire in 1998. He had already left for France, however.
Canada’s Justice Department dropped those charges in 2017 concluding there was little chance of conviction given Rivoire’s departure from the country.
Father Vincent Gruber, who leads France’s Oblates, has not responded to media requests for comment. He has, however, previously said the Oblates want Rivoire to deal with the charges.
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