PETITION

CONCERNINGTT{EDUPLESSISORPHANS

TO THE CONGREGATION
PRESENTED FORINSTITUTESOF
CONSECRATED LITE
AND SOCIETIESOFAPOSTOLICLIFE

Palazzodella Congregazioni,Roma

ON BEHALFOF

THE DUPLESSIS
ORPHANS

BY

Dr. JONATHANLEVY, PhD

ATTORNEY& SOLICITOR
Onbehalfof83 DuplessisOrphanVictims

RODVIENNEAU
Pr€sidcnt
ComitCl€s EDfantsdela GrandeNoirceul

Addressrcspons€
to:

Dr. JONATHANLEVY, ESQ.

Brimstone& Co.
Attomeys& Soliaitors
1629K St€etNW Suite300
WashingtonDC 20006USA
TEL 202-318-2406
FAj{202-318-2406
info@brimstoneaudcompany.com
 -2-

I. INTRODUCTIONTO PETITION

TheDuplessisOrphansarea groupofat least100,000fosterGhildrcnftom

Quebec,Canada.Somehadno parcnts.Somehadonlyanunmarriedmother' Some
hadimpoverishedparentswhothoughtthechildrenwouldbebettercaredfor in an
theirparcntaldghts.
CatholicChurchOrderrun institutionandrelinquished

Dudngthe 1940s,1950sand1960s,insteadofbeingproperlycaredfor and

givena goodeducation,asmanyofthe parentshadbeenpromised,psychiatrists ard
'lnentally ill" or "mentally
medicaldoctorsfalselydeclaredthesechildrento be
retarded."

Thechildrenwerewarehoused in psychiaticinstitutions,orphalages,refom
schools,andotherinstihrlionsaspartofa financialscheme to enrichthe govemment
The
ofQuebecandCatholicOrdels, Quebea govemment under MauriceDuplessis
@remierofQuebecI 936-1939,1944-1959) receiveda largevolumeoffirndingfrom
theCanadian federalgovemment for thesocalledcareofthe children.Theperiodin
Quebechistoryis calledtheLa GrandeNoirceur("TheGreatDarkness") dueto
rampantcorruptionforemostamongwhichwasthefeatmentof theDuplessis
Oryhans.

Otherchildren,particularlynewboms,weretraffickedin by theOrders,in
padiculartheSistersof Mercy.

in RomanCatholicOrder-runinstitutionsthemselves'
while institutionalized
manyDuplessisOrphanswereimproperlysubjeated to brain'damaging electroshock,
forcibleinjections\Mithpowerfuldrugs,humanexperimentation,toiure, sexual
abuse,beatings, forcedlaborandotherformsof physicalabuse. The abuscrcsulted
in manydeathsestimates rangeinto thethousands.

In the 1990s,240individualtestimonies and321criminalcomplaintsftom

suwivingDuplessisOrphans werecompiled 1997,a Quebecgovemment
ln
ombudsman's reportverifiedin detailtheabusetheDuplessisOrphanssuffercdThe
ombudsman, DanielJacoby,foundevidenceoftortule,beatings, ice
lobotomies,
psychosurgery,
baths,eleatroshock, sexualabuseandmorc.

PsychiatristDenisLazue,Fesidentof theCanadian Association

Psychiatric
andhead;f theQuebecHealthMinistry,admittedin his memoi$thatinmatesdied
institutionthat
fiom psychiatric"treatmelts"at theinstitutio[ whereheintemed----an
heldmanyDuplessisOrphans. Theseteahnentswercoftennothingmorcthan
sadisticpseudoscientificexperimentation on children.
 -3 -

To date,how€ver,no individual or entity-including the Canadianand

Quebecgovemments,the psychiatdstsanddoctorswho victimized the Duplessis
Orphansand exploitedthem ashumanguineapigs, andthe RomanCatholicOrders
which ran the institutionshavebeenheld accountableor apologizedfor the alleged
crirnesandhumanrights abuses.

In 2010,the survivilg DuplessisOrphansremainhauntedby the false label of

mentalillness in their medicalrecords.Additionally, the federalgovemmentof
CanadaandPlovince of Quebecrefuseto investigatecredibleallegationsof murders
andgenocide,havepermittedeviderceto be inteltionally destroyedandrefuseto
documentknown but urunarkedgravesitesofmurdered victims.

The HumanRights Commissionsof both Canadaand Quebecaslvell asthe

variousotherCanadianagencieseitherrefuseor haveactively coveredup further
investigationinto the DuplessisOrphansciting eitherstatutcoflimitations or an
unwillingnessto reopena closedmatterfrom La CrandeNoirceur'

Petitionershowevercite that crimesagainstchildrenincluding murdersshould

be investigatedandprosecutedwhenthe individual andjuridic perpetrato$are still at
liberty. Furthermany ofthe Orphansstitl carry falselabelsof retardedor mentally ill
andhavebeendeniedjust andprop€rcompensation.Finally, the RomanCatholic
Ordersinvolved including but not limited to The Little Frstrcilcrns of Msry'
Brotben ofNotre Dame of M€rcy, the Grey Nunr, SfuteB of Mer.Y' Silterr of
Providetrce, Sistersof Charity of Quebec,Sistersof th€ GoodSh€pherdand
SiEteBNotrc Drme of Auxiliatrice havebeenunjusdy enrichedbut havebeen
permittedto k€epmillions of dollarsin surplusesmadeat the expenseof the orphans.

II. TIIE PETITIONERS

by Dr, JonathanLely,
The petitioners,83 DuplessisOrphansrepresetrted
solicitor andattomeyandthe CanadianNGO Comitd Les Enfantsde la Grande
Noirceur headedby Rod Vienneauhavestandingto bring this case.

III EXHAUSTION OF LOCAL REMEDIES

Petitionershaveexhaustedall local remediesas follows:

June 16,2010the CanadianHnmanRightsCommissionrcfusedjurisdiction and

referredthe matterto the HumanRights Commissio[ of Qu€bec.

The Commissionstatedto Mr. Vienneau:

"Your cortespondence hasbeencalefirlly reviewed,andit doesnot appearthat the

mattersyou mise arerclatedto a federallyregulatedbody. As a resultthe
Commissionis unableto assistyou. You may wish to biing your concamsto the
attentionof the humandghts coomission for Quebec..."
 On September23, 2010,the QuebecCommissiondesdroits de la personneet
desdrcits de lajeunesse(QuebecHumanRights Commission)respondedto
Petitioners'attomeyregardingwhetherthe matterofthe Orphansincluding the
ongoingcoverup could be investigated.The Commissionruled therewasno case
underinvestigationregardingthe Orphansthat the mattorwasjurisdictionally baned
. andthe Commissionrcfusedto conductan intemal investigationofwhether therewas
or had beenan activecover up.

Additionally, Rod Vienneauin the pastten yearshaswritten hundredsof

lette$ to Canadiangovemmentoffices, the DioceseofMontleal, the English Crown,
politicians,andmediaseekingjusticefor the orphansand a reopeningofthe
invesligation. The lettershaveeither goneunanswered,havebeenpolitely received
but no actiontaken,or refenedto other agenciesthat do likewise.

All local remedieshavebeenexhausted.The responsibleagencieshaveall found

jurisdictional reasonsnot to investigatethe matterofunresolvedcdmes,false
labeling,andthe involvementofthe RomanCatholicOrd€rs.Petitionersare left with
no remedydueto the deliberatepolicy ofthe Canadiangovelnmentto cover up the
crimesofthe La GrandeNoirceur periodin Quebecandspecificallyth€ crimes
committedagainstOrphansby the Ordersandtheir continuingconsequences and
pdvations.

IV THE ORIGINAL CRIMES

lt is the refusalofthe Canadiangovemmentto provide closureandjustice for the past

crimesagainstthe Orphansand removethe falsemedicallabelsofretalded and
mentally ill which still hauntthe Petitiorc! Orphansthat promptsthis petitio[ The
Quebecinstitutions,doctors,RomanCatholicOrdersand otherscommift€dtensof
thousandsof crimesagainstthe orphans.

Hereinis a very small rcpresentativesamplingofcdmes committedagainstOrphan

petitionersthat occurredduring the La GrandeNoirceur:

1. As a child A was kept in a cell for 6 years,received30 unauthorized

electroshocks from 150voltsto 350volts...

2. B was falsely label mentallyretarded,usedas slavelabor on statefarms,denied

an educalion,severelybeatenon the headand lost his hearingin oneear...

3. C was forcedto aansportdeadOrphans'bodiesto the morgueandwashthem;

he transported75 bodies,until he himself fell sick.. .

4. D washeld againsthis will at Saint-Jean-de-Dieu PsychiatricHospitalfor 39

years,falsely labeledmentally ill, beaten,straitjacketed,anddosedwith
chlomromazine...
5. E wastied to a bed in a cell in a straitjacket,tortured,bealen,drugged,deniedan
educationand falsely labeledmentally retarded,..

6. F was sexuallymolestedby a Nunlied handandfoot to a steelbedwith collar

aroundher neck, irnprisonedin a cell anddosedwith the powerfi tranquiller,
Largactil(Thorazine)...

7. G, Was sodomizedrepeatedlyby hospitalguards,whenhe fought back, oneguard

blinded G with ajackknife

8. H was sexuallyabused,tortued andusedas slavelabor; a CatholicBrother of

Nobe Dameintentionallythrew a hockeypuck hitting him in the eye,blinded hrm
andreducedhis visionto 10oloin theothereye...

9. I wasillegally held at St Michel Archange,put into punishmentcells,

straitjacketed,toltured, beaten,dosedwith Chlorpromazine,andhansfenedto other
institutions...

10. J, a Native Am€rican,hadhis identity changed,was subjectedto unauthorized

electroshocksand lobotomies,held prisonerfor 18 yearsin psychiatrichospitals,and
6 yearsasforcedlabor on staterun work farms,..

I l. K waswarehousedat DoreaPsychiatricHospital,usedasa humanmedical

experimentsubjectfor testsof the drugsGludoxine,Librium, Demerol,Atropine,
Largactil; beatenwith a stick, straps,false labeledmentally ill , andimprisonedin a
cell...

V. COVER UP & FALSE LABELING OF PETITIONERS IS A SERIOUS

VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Petitionen believethat the most seriouscrimes:murderof children,sexual
exploitationofchildren andhafrcking in children,medicalexperimentation,and
torture shouldbe exemptfrom any arbitrarystatuteoflimitation whenthe main actors
Thesearenot randomcnmes
are RomanCatholicOrden, their agentsand.employees.
committedby individuatsfor thei own gratification but enormouscrimesagainstan
entire class,the Orphans,committedfor financial benefit.The fruits ofthese outrages
havebeenretainedby the guilty partiesandno adequaterestitutionofferedto the
victims.
The Orphansstill retainthe stigmaoftheir falsediagnoses,the physica.land
emotionalscarsofthe traumasufered, and in somecasesbrain damagecausedby
humanexperimentationin the nameofmedical science.The damagethereforeis
ongoingandhasnot abatedard will not be staurcheduntil a rcmedyis providedby
Canadafor closure.
Secondly,the ongoingcover up ofcrimes is pervasive.Therearemany facts
still not kno!v.n.Unmarkedcemeteriesoriginally ownedby the Ordersarc being
destroyedeventhoughthe authoritieshavebeenalqted to thesecrime scerles.
Forensicevidenceis being inlentionally destroyeddueto the indifferenceand
deliberatespoliationofevidence by the Orders.
VI LIABILITY OF TIIE ORDERS
The Od€rs havercfusedto communicatewith petitioners' attomeyand
advocates.The Ordershavedestroyedevidenceandhavebankedthe proceedsof
thesecrimesat the IOR and other depositoryinstitutions.Petitioners'submitthat
thereis no statuteof limitations for thesecrimesas long asthe Ordcrsremainunjusdy
enriched.
I'II CONCLUSION
The petitionersrequestthat this matterbe refenedto the Congegationfor
fi.rfthe!study andother appropriateactionto determineifviolations ofcanon and
CommonLaw haveoccurredand ifcanon and CommonLaw remediesshouldbe
dispensed.The Ordersinvolved areremissin their dutiesdueto embarassmentand
unwillingnessto reopena dark chapterin their history. This indifferenceto the plight
ofthe Orphansis a violation ofuniversal normsofhuman rights. Furtherthe Orders
haveenrichedthemselvesat the expenseof the Orphans.
In the words of His Holiness,JohnPaul II:
"Ai excuseis worseandmoreterrible than a lie. for an excuseis a lie suarded."
It is time that theseOrderscometo termswith their pastand squarelyon the sideof
humanrights andjustice or foreverbe taintedand unclean.The victims of thisgreat
injusticearehoping that the Congregationwill be ableto elicit a rcsponsefiom its
Ordersandthat a measureofjustice including an admissionof responsibilityfor the
Orphansmay be obtained.
Deliveryby U.S.Mail: hoof of Serviceby Mail by Attomey

I declarethatI amovertheageofeighteenyearsandnot a Partyto this action'

OnApril 15,201I

I servedtheattached Petitionby placinga tuo copyenclosed with

io a sealedeDvelope
postagefully prepaidin theU.S.mail,
adfuessed asfollo$,s:

THE CONGREGATION FORINSTITUTESOTCONSECRATED LIFE

AND SOCIETIESOFAPOSTOLICLIFE
PiazzaPioxII, 3, 00193Rona' Itsly
PalazzodellaCongregazioni,

I declareunderpenaltyof perjuryunderthelawsofthe UnitedStqtesthattheforcgoingis

trueandcorrect.

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bYrfA."'
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