A Senegalese man is suing a Quebec-based Catholic congregation for 1.4 million dollars, 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, says the congregation has 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.
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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.
The congregation is also the target of a 15-million dollar class action lawsuit authorized last November in Quebec Superior Court.
At least 18 brothers are accused of abusing male students at the College Mont-Sacre-Coeur in Granby over a span of decades.