All charges stayed on 2nd day of trial against Manitoba priest accused of sexually assaulting girl
CBC News - November 13, 2024
Little Grand Rapids, MB - A Manitoba priest accused of sexually assaulting a now-nine-year-old girl in Little Grand Rapids First Nation last year has had all charges against him stayed, a day after the girl at the centre of the case testified against him. Following his arrest, Savari was suspended from all ministerial duties and "forbidden to have anything to do with former parishioners and children," according to a 2023 news release from the Archdiocese of St. Boniface.
Zenit - March 18, 2026 Montreal, QC - In Montreal this March, Cardinal Marc Ouellet appeared in Quebec Superior Court to defend himself against allegations of sexual misconduct, as part of a broader defamation lawsuit he filed against his accuser. The case has reopened attention to a series of claims first publicized in a 2022 class-action lawsuit involving 101 individuals alleging abuse by clergy or staff within the Archdiocese of Quebec. The case is unfolding at a moment of heightened attention to accountability within the Catholic Church in Canada, highlighting the complexities of balancing legal rights, canonical procedures, and the reputational and moral stakes for high-ranking clerics. Observers note that the trial’s outcome could have ramifications for how allegations of misconduct are addressed both in civil courts and within Church structures, particularly in cases involving defamation claims intertwined with historical abuse allegations.
CBC - March 18, 2026 Winnipeg, MB - A now-dead Catholic priest is accused of repeated sexual abuse of a boy in a rural Manitoba community in a lawsuit filed in the Court of King's Bench in Winnipeg. A statement of claim was filed March 6 against the estate of Father Eugene Verhulst and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Winnipeg. The 47-year-old plaintiff alleges in the statement of claim that he endured inappropriate touching by Verhulst and was made to perform oral and anal sex from approximately age 10 to 12. The archdiocese failed to act and protect the boy when it knew or ought to have known or was willfully blind to the abuse, the claim says, making the archdiocese vicariously liable for the abuse. The man, who now lives in B.C., is seeking general damages, special damages, punitive damages, aggravated damages, exemplary damages and damages for breach of fiduciary duty.