Mounties have laid a new charge against a Roman Catholic priest who has previously avoided trial for multiple allegations of sexual abuse linked to his time in Nunavut.
RCMP said a Canada-wide warrant for arrest has been issued for Johannes Rivoire, who is in his 90s and lives in Lyon, France.
Nunavut RCMP said officers received a complaint last year regarding sexual assaults that occurred about 47 years ago.
Mounties said Rivoire was charged last month with sexual assault on a female.
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The latest development in the investigation of the Oblate priest comes after the leader of the national organization representing Inuit people asked Pope Francis to intervene in the case during a meeting at the Vatican on xjmtzywMonday.
Natan Obed, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, said he asked the Pope to "speak with Father Rivoire directly and ask him to go to Canada to face the charges he is up on in Canada." Obed asked the Pope to request that France step in if Rivoire is not receptive.
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Former NDP MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq holds a photo of Fr. Johannes Rivoire, who is wanted in Canada for abusing children in Nunavut but now resides in France, as she speaks at a news conference on July 8, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
