Investigation into allegations against former Kahnawake priest

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) announced that on Wednesday, November 3, 2021, the Jesuit Order of Canada began an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse against former priest Leon Lajoie.

Translation Amanda Bennett

Father Lajoie, who died in May 1999, worked on the Mohawk reserve for almost 30 years. He is buried at St. Francis Xavier Church in Kahnawake. Because of allegations of sexual abuse of minors made against the priest, a group has been asking for several months that his remains be removed from the native territory.

The King International Advisory Group will handle the investigation, the band council says.

“The Jesuits have agreed to carry out this investigation at their own expense, so that the cost will not be borne by the Church or the Community,” the order said in an email to Le Soleil de Châteauguay.

The investigation will include interviews with living Jesuits who knew Father Lajoie, parishioners who worked with him “and people in the community who claim to have been harmed by him in any manner,” the Order added.

Investigator Brian King consulted with the MCK, the St. Francis Xavier Mission Parish Council and community members who are requesting the exhumation of Father Lajoie’s remains. The order says it has done a thorough search of its Montreal archives and “all correspondence and documents related to Father Lajoie have been scanned and will be turned over to investigators.”

In 2019, the Jesuit Order of Canada had retained the services of the Investigation and Risk Management Agency to review the files of all Jesuits that have been accused of sexual abuse since 1950.

The order’s goal is to publish a list of names of Jesuits “who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors”, but the organization maintains that Father Lajoie was not considered a candidate for that list.

"A review of Father Lajoie’s files in the Jesuit archives revealed no complaints or reports of misconduct at any time during his career," the order explained in an email. “Many people in Kahnawake considered Father Lajoie to be above reproach and a great advocate for the disadvantaged in the community.”

However, the Jesuits say they take the testimony of the group calling for Father Lajoie’s exhumation “very seriously.”

“Everyone has different points of view in this case, but we have a common goal,” the religious organization assures. “It is to find out what happened in this community and what we can do to facilitate healing and reconciliation in the community.”

People can contact the investigators to share their concerns, stories and comments by contacting King by phone at (416) 628-6877 ext. 222, by email at bking@kinginternationalgroup.com or by text message at (416) 346-5833.