
Allegations of Clerical Debauchery
As the allegations of sexual molestation, legal misdemeanours, and cover-up
proliferated, a married middle-aged man now residing in the United States
was determining to wipe his own slate clean. He had been involved with "the
clan" himself, first as a young boy and later as an adult. According to the
Ottawa Sun, "Richard" stepped into the fray because "This thing has been
eating me alive inside-out. I think about it every single day." He was even
willing to incriminate himself, recognizing only too well that in the process,
the police "are probably going to put the screws to me." But he wanted to
clean the slate.
So, in November 1996 Richard signed an affidavit. The information and allegations
contained therein are extremely damning for a number of highly-respected
individuals and, if verified, leave no doubt that a ring of molesters has
been operating in Cornwall for a number of years. According to Richard,
a number of Cornwall men are part of a "clan" of pedophiles. He names them.
And, it's a shocker. The names include those of several prominent men and
a number of Roman Catholic clergy. A few of the suspects are now deceased,
others are functioning in various capacities in their environs.
Richard alleges that he attended clan parties and witnessed "sexual
improprieties, molestation, fondling, oral sex, intercourse (anal) between
the above-named 'clan' members and minors through the period of 1957 or 1958
to 1993." He numerically names some of those who attended the parties, concluding
with #34: "Male prostitutes both adults and juveniles, altar boys and several
others." He recalls one party which included "a ceremonious ritual of candles
in the Altar Boys rectums with sheets over them. These Altar Boys were walking
around with the candle in the rectum and sheets over them with no clothes
on, during this ceremony, several members of the clergy were fondling these
boys and molesting them." He continues, "all of the aforementioned priests
committed illegal, inappropriate and perverse sexual acts against myself
as a minor." He also talks of a cache of pornographic pictures of young Cornwall
boys taken with a Polaroid camera, and he recounts events leading up to Ken
Seguin's death.
Richard alleges that the clan had a number of meeting places, most of them
in or around Cornwall. But an important point the clan also met in the United
States. According to the affidavit, clan members travelled to Fort Lauderdale,
Florida on a fairly regular basis where they would frequent an area called
Birch Avenue and a certain motel which he names.
The information contained in this eight-page legal document, which names
names and references a specific motel on the 'pedophile strip' in Fort
Lauderdale, is now at the core of mounting allegations of a massive cover-up.
The motel referenced in the affidavit has been investigated by other interested
parties anxious to seek the truth in the allegations, but not by the Ontario
Provincial Police or its Project Truth Team.
The Fort Lauderdale Connection
On 18 September 1998, Gary Guzzo (member of Ontario's Progressive Conservative
Provincial Government) sent a letter marked Private and Confidential to Premier
Mike Harris. Therein Guzzo advises the Premier that contrary to what he (Harris)
might be told by his Attorney General and Solicitor General, the Project
Truth investigation is not progressing as it should and has not followed
up on "volumes of information" turned over to the Attorney General and Solicitor
General by Perry Dunlop. He elaborates.
Through his contacts in Cornwall, and with a retired policeman in Fort
Lauderdale, Florida, Guzzo a Catholic, a lawyer and former judge has kept
abreast of the investigation and is very familiar with the intricacies of
the Cornwall affair and the allegations of a pedophile ring. He has also,
at his own expense, travelled to the United States to speak with people "who
signed affidavits and made depositions which were served on our government
in April 1997." He concludes: "I can tell you directly that they are not
all lying." As a result of his own personal research Guzzo has learned that
"The people who signed affidavits, who made depositions under oath, some
of which are inculpatory in nature, have not been interrogated after one-
and-a-half years" and he concludes: "I am 100 per cent certain in my own
mind that the former owners and operators of the motel on the pedophile strip
in Fort Lauderdale, where the complainants stated they were taken on occasion
by some of the perpetrators in the 1970s, have not been interrogated, nor
have the motel records been requested by the police doing the investigation."
The letter closes on this ominous note: "I do trust you appreciate
my concern for the safety of my family and staff . . ." Copies were
sent to Charles Harnick, Attorney General, and Bob Runciman, Solicitor
General.
Mr. Guzzo again put pen to paper on 23 February 1999, this time telling the
Premier that since his previous communication he (Guzzo) has had occasion
to spend ten days in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He writes:
I want you to understand how embarrassing it is for me to attempt to answer
the pointed questions of a retired police officer with regard to this issue.
This man is in contact on a regular basis with individuals who have visited
the Fort Lauderdale area to investigate certain aspects of the allegations
made by a number of people in the Cornwall area.
The allegations centre around activities in the late 60s to late 70s and
the motel records seem to confirm the attendance at a motel on the
"pedophile strip" in the Fort Lauderdale area of certain of the victims and
in the company of certain of the people named in the complaints by these
victims. The information the retired police officer has received, which
information has been confirmed by the undersigned, would indicate that certain
key people have not yet been interrogated by the Ontario Provincial Police
Project Truth Team. These people include complainants, as well as witnesses
and at least in one case, a perpetrator, who has signed an affidavit, which
affidavit was filed with the Attorney General of this province and the Solicitor
General of this province in April 1997. The person making this affidavit
continues to state that he has not been interrogated by the Ontario Provincial
Police with regard to this issue.
Finally, he reiterates his concern regarding the potential for accusations
of a cover-up at the highest levels:
The fact remains that we are approaching two years since the formal delivery
of this information to the two ministries in question. The fact remains that
this information was available long before it was formally delivered to the
two ministries in question. There may be many reasons why some of these people
have not been contacted by investigating officers; however, two of the obvious
possible reasons must be dispelled immediately!
The letter was copied to Bob Runciman (Solicitor General), Charles Harnick
(Attorney General), and Ron McLaughlin (Chief of Staff, Office of the Premier).
With the exception of the Ottawa Sun, Ontario's print media has been strangely
silent on Guzzo's courageous and bold interjections. Not a boo from The Ottawa
Citizen, the Toronto Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star or The National Post.
Strange indeed from a media which delights in political intrigue.
Since Gary Guzzo's interjection into the Cornwall affair became public, Project
Truth has spread the word that Cornwall is caught in the grips of McCarthyism.
And, while welcome talk of McCarthyism ripples through the quiet city streets,
Mr. Guzzo has been contacted by a couple who allege that their son was sexually
assaulted by one of the Dunlops' prime suspects! The alleged assault occurred
between August 1997 - July 1998 while the Attorney General and the Solicitor
General's office sat on explosive evidence evidence which the honourable
ministers did not hand over to the Project Truth team commissioned specifically
to investigate the Dunlop allegations.
Asked if anyone from the Diocesan office has talked to them throughout this
ordeal, Helen emits a wry chuckle: "Talk to us? No, they don't talk to me.
They don't talk to us. I don't even think they talk to God."
Conclusion
Cover-up? Can there be one iota of doubt?
Prime suspects? There are a number on the loose. A number of them are
priests. The have access to children.
Do our bishops care?
Breach of Faith: Breach of Trust? Of the highest order.
From Pain to Hope? For the many victims, the pain won't go away.
For every child who is molested while the cover-up continues, the pain
has just begun.
For our suffering Church, the pain continues.
And what of hope?
Catholics of Cornwall hope the whispered rumours are false. They can't let
themselves think otherwise.
The victims hope that somehow truth will prevail. They no longer trust the
Church to act. They have little faith in the legal system. Perry and Helen
hope that someone somewhere cares enough to ensure that justice prevails.
They too have lost faith in the hierarchy of the Church: they unfortunately
stopped going to Mass when they realized the magnitude of the problem. Pray
for them.
Gary Guzzo hopes his government will act. He was a member of the Board of
Directors at St. Brigid's Summer Camp which came under scrutiny six years
ago when its founder, Father Ken Keeler was charged with sexual molestation.
Father Keeler pleaded guilty after his trial commenced, but not before damning
testimony was introduced regarding the then deceased Bishop John Michael
Beahen's sexual proclivities.
Seven long years ago a troubled young man took his allegations of sexual
abuse to Church officials in the Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall. And seven
long years ago the bishops of Canada published two glossy-covered booklets
sporting pictures of cracks, and rocks, and blooming weeds. Seven long years
ago Canadian Catholics trusted that their bishops truly had serious concerns
regarding the scandalous, painful and abhorrent problem of clerical molesters;
that the bishops really meant it when they called us to "promote actions
which will purge this evil from our society"; or when they said the Church
should "call its members to unite with those who condemn such forms of
aggression"; and when they advised that the Church should avoid "any word
or gesture that risks dissuading someone from carrying out his or her duty
of reporting a case of child sexual abuse."
The words sounded so good. However, actions speak louder than words. The
bishops have been and are now busy with other "serious" issues. There's no
more talk of purging the evil of clerical molestation from our society and
our Church. There hasn't been for years. Now our "justice"-minded bishops
are back to dabbling in economics and high finance. They want the faithful
to unite to seek "justice" for countries which have submerged themselves
in debt: countries which abort their unborn with abandon, sterilize men and
women with alacrity, and offer contraceptives and condoms like candy kisses.
No talk now of the mess in their own backyard, or of purging predators from
our sanctuaries, just the constant materialistic prattle about something
they call "justice" and the dizzying whirl of press releases, signature
campaigns, workshops and homilies haranguing one and all to 'do justice,'
purge the debt and dutifully sign on the dotted line. Meanwhile, the Dunlops
are persecuted, sexual predators are on the loose, a molestation which could
have been prevented has been reported, and every child and adolescent is
at risk.
But he that shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in me,
it were better for him that a millstone should be hanged about his neck,
and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because
of scandals. For it must needs be that scandals come: but nevertheless woe
to that man by whom the scandal cometh. (St. Matthew 18: 6,7)
Did You Know?
Bishop Eugene Larocque was Dean of the former Christ the King College in
London, Ontario between 1965 and 1968 when "Christ" was removed from the
Catholic Boy's College name to give it a more non-denominational appeal.
At that time the College was closely affiliated with St. Peter's Seminary.
The Charges to Date
Father Charles MacDonald (65): fifteen counts of indecent assault and
two of gross indecency.
Arthur Peachy (77), Roman Catholic, family physician, former coroner,
team doctor for the Cornwall Royals hockey team, and acting physician for
the Cornwall Police: one count of indecent assault and three counts of gross
indecency.
Harvey Latour (69), owner of a popular city breakfast diner: one count
of indecent assault.
George Lawrence (70), organist and former owner of a music store: one
count of indecent assault and one count of gross indecency.
Roch Landry (70), former butcher: three counts of indecent assault and
three counts of gross indecency.
Brother George Edmond (Lionel Carrierre) (78), former teacher in Alexandria:
two counts of indecent assault.
Father Paul Lapierre (70), formerly of Cornwall, now of Westmount, Quebec:
three counts each of indecent assault and gross indecency.
Father Kenneth Martin (68), formerly of Cornwall, now of Pointe Claire
Quebec: two counts of indecent assault and one count of gross indecency.
Jacques Leduc (48), lawyer, legal counsel for the Diocese, canon lawyer,
married: five counts of sexual assault, six of sexual exploitation, four
of procuring the sexual services of someone under age, and one each of sexual
interference and invitation to sexual touching.
Bernard Sauve (59), entrepreneur: one count each of gross indecency and
indecent assault.
A. Malcolm MacDonald (69), Roman Catholic lawyer, former Crown Attorney
and Knight of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem: two counts of indecent
assault and one of gross indecency.
Jean Luc LeBlanc (54), bus driver: one count of sexual intercourse with
a female, one of indecent assault on a female, three counts of sexual touching,
two counts of invitation for a sexual purpose, two of gross indecency, one
of obtaining sexual services, one of sexual assault on a female and
five of sexual assault on a male.
Chronology of Events in the Cornwall Cover-Up
February 1992: D.S. tells Church officials he was molested by Father
Charles MacDonald.
09 December 1992: D.S. reports his allegations to Cornwall Police.
28 January 1993: D.S. is interviewed by Cornwall Police.
16 February 1993: D.S.'s victim's statement is turned in to Cornwall
Police.
02 September 1993: The gag order brokered by Malcolm MacDonald is signed.
D.S. receives $32,000.
23 September 1993: Constable Perry Dunlop learns of the D.S. allegations.
25 September 1993: Dunlop talks to Richard Abell of the Children's AID
Society.
30 September 1993: Copy of D.S.'s victim's statement is given to the
Children's Aid Society.
07 October 1993: Police Chief Claude Shaver goes to Papal Nuncio.
12 October 1993: Perry is told he is going to be investigated by his police
force.
16 October 1993: Local media report that Malcolm MacDonald was knighted
into the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.
02 November 1993: Police Chief Claude Shaver announces his early retirement.
25 November 1993: Ken Seguin, the probation officer accused by D.S. commits
suicide.
06 January 1994: D.S.'s victim's statement is leaked to the media.
11 January 1994: Ottawa Police are called in to investigate Cornwall Police
handling of the D.S. allegations.
15 January 1994: Jacques Leduc and Bishop Eugene Larocque deny the monetary
settlement contains a gag order.
24 January 1994: Bishop Larocque admits the D.S. payoff contains a gag
order.
February 1994: Ontario Provincial Police investigates allegations against
Father Charles MacDonald and later that year announces it has no grounds
to lay charges against him.
01 March 1994: Children's Aid Society concludes that Father Charles MacDonald
molested D.S. as a child..
14 May 1994: Dunlop is charged with discreditable conduct under the Police
Services Act.
23 September 1994: A Board of Inquiry is held in Ottawa.
31 January 1995: All charges against Dunlop are stayed. The Police Complaints
Commission appeals the decision.
07 February 1995: Malcolm MacDonald is charged with obstruction of justice.
12 October 1995: Malcolm MacDonald pleads guilty and receives an absolute
discharge.
07 December 1995: Divisional Court dismisses the Police Complaints
Commission's appeal with costs and upholds the Board of Inquiry decision
to stay all charges against Dunlop.
11 March 1996: Father Charles MacDonald is charged with seven counts of
indecent assault against three former altar boys.
13 November 1996: "Richard" signs an affidavit outlining his first-hand
account of a pedophile ring.
08 April 1997: Perry Dunlop deposits documents with the Attorney General
and the Office of the Solicitor General, Ontario Civilian Commission on Policing
Services.
August 1997: Ontario Provincial Police launch Project Truth.
27 January 1998: Father Charles MacDonald is charged with six more counts
of indecent assault and two of gross indecency.
11 June 1998: Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall attempts to gag Perry Dunlop
and his family.
22 June 1998: Jacques Leduc, former legal counsel for the Archdiocese
of Alexandria-Cornwall, is charged with twelve counts of sexual assault.
09 July 1998: Project Truth charges seven men with sexual offences which
date back thirty years. Superintendent Fougere says Project Truth is scheduled
to wrap up in September.
31 July 1998: Perry Dunlop gives Project Truth the missing documents.
18 September 1998: Gary Guzzo sends first letter to Premier Mike Harris.
05 January 1999: A 54-year-old male is charged with 16 counts of sexual
assault against males and females between 1986 and 1998.
23 February 1999: Gary Guzzo writes second letter to Premier Mike Harris.
11 March 1999: Malcolm MacDonald is charged with three counts of sexual
assault. One other man is charged. Jacques Leduc has four more charges
added to the previous 12. Detective Inspector Grassman says he thinks
the investigation will wrap up in the summer.
21 March 1999: Gary Guzzo's letters to Premier Harris are in the public
domain.
03 April 1999: Ottawa Sun reports that a couple claim their son was molested
by one of the Dunlop's prime suspects.
Charged and Convicted in 1986
Father Gilles Deslaurier
When Bishop Adolphe Proulx was at the helm of Alexandria-Cornwall Diocese
(1967-1974), a priest by the name of Father Gilles Deslaurier served as his
Master of Ceremonies and, for a time, lived in the Bishop's palace. In 1974,
when Bishop Proulx was assigned to the neighbouring Archdiocese of Gatineau-Hull,
he was replaced by Father Eugene Larocque a priest from the Archdiocese of
London, who was consecrated as Bishop of Alexandria.
After Bishop Larocque assumed control of the Diocese, Father Deslaurier helped
out with a variety of diocesan activities. He assisted the Bishop with Religious
Vocations for the French sector, served on the Liturgical Commission for
the French sector, served on the Pastoral Ministry of Priests, and acted
as chaplain in the Catholic Secondary School. For a number of years he was
placed in charge of the diocese's French Cursillo and R3, a French youth
Cursillo.
In January 1986, the parents of a young man approached Bishop Eugene Larocque
alleging that their son had been sexually molested by Father Deslaurier.
When no action was taken, the couple went to the Papal Nuncio, then Angelo
Palmas. Following that visit, Bishop Larocque carried out an internal
investigation, then contacted the couple and promised that Deslaurier would
be kept out of active ministry and relocated to receive therapy in the
Gatineau-Hull Diocese (then under the helm of Bishop Proulx). The priest
resigned on the 13th of February. One week later he was discovered saying
Mass in a Hull parish where he was filling in for the ailing parish priest.
The couple went public and eventually nine charges of indecent assault against
five boys between 1978 and 1984 were laid against Father Deslaurier.
Deslaurier was found guilty and sentenced to two years probation, reporting
to a probation officer and Bishop Proulx. Newspapers of the day reported
that Bishop Proulx of the Gatineau-Hull Diocese had volunteered to watch
over Deslaurier, an offer which the judge said, "indicates a confidence he
has in the future of this person." The media also reported that Cornwall
Police Chief Claude Shaver said Bishop Larocque had been less than cooperative
during the investigation. Father Deslaurier moved on to St. Adele,
Quebec, and then to Vercheres, Quebec. In 1997 the Ottawa Sun learned that
Father Deslaurier was under investigation for new sex allegations in
St. Adele.
Priests Charged by Project Truth
Father Charles MacDonald (Father Charlie) was a 35-year-old teacher when
he decided to become a priest. He attended Ottawa's University of Saint Paul
Seminary where he was known as "the old man" because of his age. He was ordained
in Cornwall in 1969 while Adolphe Proulx was Bishop. According to Faith is
Our Strength, a 1994 publication recounting the history of Cornwall's St.
Columban's Parish, the parish youth groups had ceased to function by the
mid 1950s. However, in the 60s "assistant pastor Charles MacDonald organized
the youth group and later with the help of the young priest Paul Marchese*
the group was quite active."
While Bishop Proulx was at the helm, Father Charlie served on the Diocesan
Marriage Tribunal. Later, under Bishop Larocque, he was elected Dean to the
Diocesan Consultors and Senate of the Bishop in the government of the Diocese.
He was also placed in charge of the English Cursillo movement and COR (Christ
in Others Retreat), a weekend retreat with ongoing activities for youth around
the ages of 17-21. For several years the entire Cursillo and youth movements
of the diocese were in the hands of Fathers Gilles Deslaurier (French sector)
and Charles MacDonald (English sector).
*Father Paul Marchese, a New York resident, attended Ottawa's University
of Saint Paul Seminary and was ordained by then Bishop Adolphe Proulx at
St. Columban's in 1973. Marchese was assigned to that parish "until his return
to the Albany, N.Y. Diocese in 1978."
The Orator has learned that Father Marchese created a bit of a sensation
in Albany when he showed up in open-neck shirts and tight pants not the order
of clerical attire in those days. He was encountered in this attire one day
by an individual who did not know or recognize that Marchese was a priest.
Marchese was in the company of a male hairdresser whom he identified as his
"companion." According to officials in the Diocese of Albany, Marchese left
Albany in January 1984 and some time later left the priesthood. His last
known whereabouts were somewhere in Florida.
Fathers Kenneth Martin and Paul Lapierre were both ordained for the Diocese
of Alexandria-Cornwall by Bishop Brodeur, the former in 1959, the latter
in 1958. They both left the diocese in the early 70's while Bishop Proulx
was in charge. Father Lapierre is a brother of Laurier Lapierre, a self-declared
homosexual and former lecturer at London, Ontario's Christ the King College.
Prior to his departure from Cornwall, Father Lapierre served as a member
of the Diocesan Liturgy Commission, was responsible for the diocese's marriage
prep. programme, and conducted retreats at Villa Fatima in Alexandria. Father
Martin, meanwhile, was in charge of diocesan catechetics and served
as director of la Sainte-Enfance. The 1973 directory of priests shows both
priests residing in Montreal at a common address. At that time, Martin was
functioning as a student (he later assumed pastoral responsibilities in the
Montreal diocese), and Lapierre was active at St. Jacques Church on St. Catherine
Street. Both have retained their incardination in the Diocese of
Alexandria-Cornwall while carrying out priestly duties in the Montreal
Archdiocese, each eventually assuming pastoral responsibilities in the wealthy
English-speaking sectors of the Montreal Archdiocese. Although absent from
the Alexandria-Cornwall, it is known that at least Father Lapierre occasionally
returned to minister to the flock, witness the following quote from Faith
regarding parish missions at St. Columban's:
Forty hours devotions took place annually with special guest homilists such
as Corbin Eddy, a Sulpician priest who was present for the devotions in November
1982 [Father Eddy is now a priest and liturgist in the Archdiocese of Ottawa].
A year earlier, Father Paul Lapierre conducted a successful week-long mission
which included homilies each evening from Sunday to Thursday.
Our tongue-tied bishops' politically-correct response
to clerical homosexual predators
In the late 1980s, a spate of sexual abuse charges was levelled against a
number of Newfoundland's diocesan clergy; these were accompanied by revelations
of the years of sexual molestation endured by boys at St. John's Mount Cashel
orphanage. To quell demands for action after years of cover-up, Archbishop
Penney of St. John's, Newfoundland commissioned an Enquiry headed by an Anglican,
the Honourable Gordon A. Winter, the former Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland.
The four other members of the Commission were Sister Nuala P. Kenny, Father
Everett MacNeil, Francis G. O'Flaherty, and John A. Scott PhD. The results
of the Commission's efforts were released in 1990 in the three-volume Winter
Commission Report.
The Report is a disturbing read in that it quickly becomes apparent that
the Commission went to great lengths to shift its focus from the obvious
homosexual dimension of the problem at hand. It did acknowledge that its
focus on sexual abuse was "the involvement of male children in any form of
sexual activity with members of the Roman Catholic clergy." It also acknowledged
that: the cases before it were homosexual in nature; the clerical predators
of Newfoundland "engaged in homosexual behaviour by preference"; the boys
involved were at least 12 years old when the sexual abuse started and there
was therefore "no compelling evidence of classical pedophilia,"; some of
the "perpetrators were sexually active with a number of adolescent male partners
at any given time" and "also appear to be homosexual,"and; approximately
30% of the diocesan clergy were "homosexual in orientation." However, despite
these stated observations which were categorized as "a statistical anomaly"
the Commission refrained from delving into the sphere of homosexuality and
completely avoided Church teaching on the subject. Instead, rather than focus
on the startling fact that 30% of the clergy had an orientation which is
in itself "objectively disordered," and that a number of Roman Catholic clergy
with an "objectively disordered" sexual orientation were actively practising
homosexuals, and that a number of the latter were preying on and sexually
molesting adolescent males, the Commission chose to take the politically-correct
route. So, among other things, the politically-correct Commission indicated
that it was disturbed by the "climate of homophobia" in the Archdiocese of
St. John's, advised that this needs to be addressed "if society is to avoid
the unnecessary stigmatization of a significant portion of humankind," and
recommended that "Education programmes should direct public attitudes towards
a healthy understanding of sexuality with concomitant goals of discouraging
sexual stereotyping and homophobia." In short, the Commission sidestepped
the real issue, that of predatory clerical homosexuals. Instead, it took
the opportunity to rely on "feminist experience," bash the patriarchal structure
of the Church, and broaden its study to the "larger social issue of child
sexual abuse."
The final Report evoked accolades from Canadian bishops and became akin to
their bible on sexual abuse.
The CCCB Steps in
The same year the Report was released yet another clerical sexual scandal
of monumental proportions was erupting in Ontario. A number of priests and
Brothers were charged when former residents of reform schools run by the
Christian Brothers in Alfred and Uxbridge alleged they had been sexually
molested while at the schools. This time the Canadian Conference of Catholic
Bishops (CCCB) stepped in to do damage control. An Ad Hoc committee comprising
Andr Boyer (Chief of Social Services for Laval, Quebec School Boards),
Rita Cadieux (former Deputy-Chief Commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights
Commission who was actively involved with the UN Commission on the Status
of Women and the UN Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and
the Protection of Minorities), Father Gerald Copeman (priest from Diocese
of Sault Ste. Marie, active with Canadian Catholic Organization for Development
and Peace, diocesan director of Cursillo, President of the National Federation
of Councils of Priests), Sr. Nuala Patricia Kenny (pediatrician, Professor
at Dalhousie University, Halifax and Chief of Pediatrics at the Isaac Walton
Killam Hospital for Children in Halifax), Archbishops Roger bacher
(Gatineau-Hull, Quebec), Adam Exner OMI (Vancouver, British Columbia) and
James MacDonald csc (St. John's, Newfoundland) was established to address
the situation. The committee was chaired by Archbishop bacher who described
sexual molestation as "a form of misconduct."
The Ad Hoc Committee relied on Father Frank Morrissey OMI and Mr.Paul McAuliffe
to chair two of its four work groups. Father Morrisey, who enjoys worldwide
repute in the field of Canon Law and has been known to offer canonical assistance
to dioceses rocked by scandal, believes and lectures that child molesters
are not "moral degenerates," that child molestation is akin to alcoholism
which was once viewed as sinful and is now understood to be a disease, that
sexual molestation isn't grounds to defrock a priest, and that it is not
"responsible stewardship" to throw away the $250,000 investment that goes
into cost of ordaining a Catholic priest. Paul McAuliffe, a worker with the
Catholic Children's Aid Society of Toronto, was actually invited onto the
Committee after making known his modernist criticisms of the patriarchal
structures of the Church and his equally modernist opinion that it is the
Church's misuse of power which "seems" to support child abuse. He was also
a known member of the homosexual-friendly Coalition of Concerned Canadian
Catholics.
McAuliffe and Father Morrissey, with their two confreres Dr. Jeannine Guindon
(professional psychotherapist) and Father Jacques Gagn OMI (former
rector at Ottawa's University of St. Paul Seminary), hammered out guidelines
with the able assistance of yet another team of "collaborators." 1 Included
were three interesting personages: Father John Loftus SJ, director of Southdown
Centre, a facility which treats clergy and religious with problems of sexuality
and/or addiction (Southdown is known to be homosexual-friendly); David McCann,
the controversial victim from the Alfred scandal who helped the AIDS Committee
of Toronto with its fundraising; and, Father Peter O'Hanley, a priest charged
and found guilty of sexual molestation.
The Ad Hoc Committee studied, lauded and was influenced by the Winter Commission
Report. In June of 1992 its report, From Pain to Hope, was published by the
CCCB. The Report included recommendations that legal fees incurred by priests
charged with sexual molestation be picked up by the diocese (read: your
contributions) and proposed ways to reintegrate convicted clerical molesters
into parishes.
Breach of Trust: Breach of Faith, a compilation of "educational materials"
for the general public divided into five study sessions, was published
simultaneously. Here we really see what the Ad Hoc Committee is all about.
The five study sessions were designed "as a tool for raising awareness and
promoting education on all aspects of child sexual abuse." These
consciousness-raising materials quote extensively from the Winter Commission
Report, resort to New Age imagery, breathing, visualization and role-playing
techniques, suggest that the definition of family "must take into account
single parents, common-law relationships and other emerging styles of family
life," promote the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and advance the
feminist philosophy that the sexual abuse of children "is perpetuated by
ignoring the prevalence of patriarchy in our society." Like the Winter Commission
Report, the Ad Hoc Committee completely avoids Church teaching on homosexuality
and takes great pains to ensure that homosexuality retains the acceptable
moral and legal status it has acquired in the secular world.
Nowhere in any of these reports and guidelines does one find commonsense
guidelines which would guarantee a reduction in the cases of sexual assault
by predatory clergy and help to restore faith in the Church, i.e.: compel
seminaries to screen-out males with a "homosexual" "sexual orientation";
ensure that any seminarian known to engage in homosexual activity with adults,
adolescents or boys is thrown out of the seminary and those engaging in illegal
activities are reported to the authorities; defrock all priests who are known
homosexuals, and; defrock priests who have been charged and convicted of
sexual molestation. Only when such guidelines emerge from the mouths of our
tongue-tied bishops will Catholics believe their bishops will purge sexual
predators from the ranks of the clergy and bank 'zero tolerance' for clerical
sexual perversion in all its abhorrent and immoral manifestations. Then,
and only then, will Canadian Catholics believe that our bishops truly want
to eradicate sexual perversion from the Church, protect children, and restore
the sacred dignity of the priesthood.
Footnote
Stephen Amesse (then a Senate Research Assistant, ordained to the priesthood
at St. Patrick's Basilica, Ottawa, April 1999 at age 41),
Jeffrey King (then an Ottawa lawyer and staunch supporter of the Liberal
Party of Canada, recently ordained to the priesthood at Ottawa's St. Patrick's
Basilica at age 58),
Dr. Jocelyn Aubut (psychiatrist),
Charlene Belleau (sexual abuse research coordinator for the Cariboo Tribal
Council in British Columbia),
Dr. John Bradford (Ottawa physician who regularly assesses perpetrators
of sexual crimes),
Colette Brown (member of the Catholic Children's Aid Society and specialist
in work groups for the treatment of sexual abuse),
Sister Marie-Paule (canon lawyer and vice-chancellor of the Diocese of
Gasp, Quebec),
Father Michael Doiron SJ (superior of the Jesuit community in Ottawa),
Brian Dunn (barrister and solicitor and board member of Catholic Charities
of Toronto),
Marguerite Evans (nurse),
Dr. Francis Forde (psychologist with "longtime experience counselling
seminarians"),
Adrian Hewitt (Ottawa lawyer),
Elizabeth Lugo (member of the Toronto Metropolitan School Board),
William Malone (Superintendent of Wellington County Separate School Board,
Ontario),
Father Anthony Mancini (coordinator of Ministry to Priests Program for
the Archdiocese of Montreal),
Sister Mary McDevitt IHM, (Pastoral Consultant for Toronto Children's
Aid Society and former spiritual counsellor at Southdown Centre),
Dr. A.M. McFarthing (Sudbury, Ontario physician),
Marcellina Mian (physician and Director of the Suspected Child Abuse and
Neglect Program at Toronto's Sick Children's Hospital),
Father Michael O'Reilly (Canon Law professor at Ottawa's University of
Saint Paul),
Father Marc Ouellet PSS (rector at the major Seminary of Montreal),
Father Roch Pag (Canon Law professor at Ottawa's Saint Paul University),
Father L Pigeon OMI (retired professor with the Faculty of Education at
University of Ottawa),
Father Terrence Prendergast SJ (then professor at Regis College in Toronto's
St. Michael's University, now Bishop of Halifax),
Msgr. Jean-Marc Robillard (director of formation for future priests with
the Diocese of St. Hyacinthe, Quebec),
Dr. Gilles Schrer (psychiatrist at the Institut Pinel de Montreal).
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