Sexual Abuse Claims Blog

I have been invited to speak at the Canadian Institute’s Ninth National Summit on Institutional Liability for Sexual Assault and Abuse.

My presentation is Overcoming Key Hurdles in Bringing and Defending Child Sexual Assault and Abuse Claims.

The conference is taking place in Toronto April 7-8, 2010.

You can register, or get more information, here.

The Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bathurst has asked the Vatican to laicize a former priest from the Diocese, Father Levi Noel, who has been sentenced to eight years in jail for 22 sex related criminal offences.

Father Wesley Wade, spokesperson for the Diocese of Bathurst has told CBC news that the request is in the hands of the Vatican.

Laicization is a penalty imposed under the Code of Canon Law (Church law) where a priest is stripped of the right to perform priestly duties.

The penalty is rarely imposed. The Code of Canon Law says the penalty can only be imposed "for the gravest reasons". In fact depite the fact that 3 priests from the Diocese of Antigonish were convicted of sexually abusing dozens of children over a period of many decades, not one of them were laicized by any of fomer Bishops of Antigonish.

The Diocese of Bathurst has taken the first step towards proper accountability. It remains to be seen what efforts the Diocese will take to make amends to Levi Noel's victims.

Continue reading "Bathurst Diocese wants to Defrock Sex Abuser Levi Noel" »

I have been retained to represent two women who allege they were sexually abused by a former priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Yarmouth, Father Raoul Deveau.

Anna Maria Tremonti of CBC’s The Current, interviewed one of my clients. You can listen to the interview here.

Secrets Protect the Abusers

I was moved by one of the statements made by my client, Linda:

"This is so wrong. You're tired of hiding the secrets. They need to come out and people need to be made aware of that,"

Shame

After the interview aired I was contacted by a lady who had listened to the interview. She was calling me to express her shame. I assumed she meant the shame that most survivors of sexual abuse experience.

But what she told me was that she was ashamed because the first emotion she felt when she heard the interview...was relief. Relief that she wasn't the only person that had been sexually abused by the priest.

She was ashamed that she felt relief because someone else had experienced the same horrible experiences she had gone through!

In Sexual Abuse Settlements Empower Victims to Come Forward I discussed an article by Frank Douglas where he stated:

"...when the predators' names come out, other victims of the same perpetrator are often empowered to come forward."

I couldn't agree more.

So if there is one message that I have for survivors of childhood abuse, it is: You are not alone!

Continue reading "Survivor of Sexual Abuse by Father Raoul Deveau Speaks Out About Claim Against Yarmouth Diocese" »

This months cover story in Canadian Lawyer magazine is about Ron Martin's class action against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish.

You can read the story online.

Justice Normand Glaude has released his report in the Cornwall Inquiry into allegations of sexual abuse.

Justice Glaude said during a press conference that:

“Institutions were ill equipped to deal with allegations about their own employees…institutions tend to try to find a way out, allowing individuals to stay under ineffective conditions that failed to protect the vulnerable.”

More Concerned About Reputation Than Child Safety

In a statement that rings true Justice Glaude says that institutions were:

“Less concerned about victims than about public embarrassment.”

I have been representing survivors of childhood sexual abuse for more than 18 years. In almost every case of institutional abuse we have investigated, we have found that persons in authority were aware, or should have been aware, of the abuse.

But the institutions failed to report the abuse rather than face the public embarrassment or stigma that public revelations might cause.

This problem has been particularly rampant within the Catholic Church, which appears to have perpetuated a “code of silence”; failing to acknowledge sexual abuse by it's priests or the harm it causes to the victims.

Progress Being Made?

One can only hope that progressive steps like Justice Glaude’s report, and recommendations contained therein, and the recent class action settlement by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish will provide a path for the future and other institutions facing allegations of sexual abuse.

Continue reading "Cornwall Inquiry Finds “Systemic Failures” to Blame for Historic Sexual Abuse" »

Priest Convicted of Sexual Abuse 20 years Ago

More than 20 years ago Father James Hickey was convicted of sexually abusing a number of alter boys in the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Johns, Newfoundland.

Since then, the boys, now men, who were sexually abused by Hickey, have been fighting the Catholic Church in Court seeking compensation for their injuries.

The St. Johns Telegram has reported that the Diocese has finally agreed to settle one of the lawsuits for $200,000.00.

I have reported before of the efforts of the Church to fight the claims of abuse survivors.

Why the Antigonish Diocese Sexual Abuse Class Action Settlement is the Right Thing to do.

Perhaps this survivor can move forward with his life, now that the Diocese has been held accountable for the abuse he suffered.

Continue reading "Newfoundland Diocese Agrees to $200,000.00 Sex Abuse Settlement " »

Pope Benedict XVI has issued a statement saying he"shares the outrage, betrayal and shame felt by so many of the faithful in Ireland (over) these heinous crimes," over reports that church leaders in Ireland covered up sexual abuse by priests for decades.

Just a Few Bad Apples

The Pope’s statement expressed his “profound regret” at the actions of “some members of the clergy”.

Church Not to Blame?

In other words, this isn’t the fault of the Church; it’s not the responsibility of the Pope or the Vatican. The decades long cover up involving four consecutive Archbishops who covered up thousands of cases of sexual abuse by priests is just another isolated case of "some members of the clergy" who betrayed the trust placed in them by the victims, their families and their parishioners.

The statement indicates that the Pope intends to write a pastoral letter to Catholics in Ireland indicating what steps the church intends to take in response to the abuse allegations.

Lesson to be Learned

Perhaps the Pope should take a lesson from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish.

The Diocese of Antigonish has fully accepted responsibility for the sexual abuse perpetrated by priests of the Diocese and has created a program to compensate survivors of sexual abuse by its priests.

What do you think? Is the Irish abuse scandal the result of a few misguided priests or evidence of a systematic cover up by the Catholic Church?

Class Action Deadline

December 4, 2009 was an important deadline under the class action settlement agreement reached with the Diocese of Antigonish. If anyone opted out of the class action settlement on or before December 4, 2009, the Diocese had the right to pull out of the class action.

Similarly, if more than 70 people came forward before December 4, 2009 indicating that they wanted to pursue a claim against the Diocese, Ron Martin had the option to pull out of the class action.

Tremendous Support for Class Action
There has been overwhelming support for the class action from survivors. The feedback that we received from the survivors who have contacted us have unanimously supported Ron Martin and the class action settlement.

I think one of the survivors put it best:

“I survived so many years thinking I was alone, and it was my fault, with no one to turn to. I give all my support to Ron Martin and the class action.”

Some People Have Opted Out
I have been advised by counsel for the Diocese that the Diocese has received some opt out forms from people who do not want to be part of the class action settlement.

Therefore, under the terms of the settlement agreement conditions were met that would have allowed either the Diocese or Ron Martin to pull out of the class action.

Parties Have Agreed to Move Forward

I am pleased to announce that the Diocese and Ron Martin have agreed NOT to exercise their option to pull out of the class action. Therefore the Antigonish Diocese Class Action Settlement is now final and will proceed as planned.

Historic Day

This is a historic day. This is the first time that the Catholic Church has acknowledged its responsibility to survivors of sexual abuse. This is also an important day because Ron Martin has finally been able to fulfill the promise that he made to his brother to ensure that he, and everyone else who was sexually abused by a priest of the Antigonish Diocese, would be able to receive accountability for what happened to them.

Thank You

On behalf of Ron Martin, I would like to thank all of the class members who have supported Ron Martin in his efforts. It has been a long and difficult road to this day. The Class Members and the parishioners of the Antigonish Diocese will now be able to move forward so that survivors can receive compensation and, more importantly, accountability. It is also my hope that for some survivors this process will provide some measure of reconciliation with the Catholic Church.

Continue reading "ANTIGONISH CLASS ACTION TO MOVE FORWARD!" »

Justice David MacAdam has released his written reasons certifying Ron Martin's class action against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish and approving the settlement agreement to compensate victims of priest sexual abuse.

His Lordship Justice MacAdam reviewed in detail the requirements for certification and settlement approval. At paragraph 63 of his decision Justice MacAdam concluded:

I am satisfied on the basis of the submissions and evidence that the action meets the criteria for certification pursuant to ss. 6 and 7 of the Class Proceedings Act.

I am satisfied that the Settlement Agreement constitutes a fair and reasonable settlement that is in the best interests of the Class as a whole and that it provides significant benefits to class members and meets the “range of reasonableness” test. As such, the action is conditionally certified as a class proceeding and the Settlement Agreement is approved.

Anyone trying to decide whether to participate in the class action should read Justice MacAdam's decision. It is not just Ron Martin and I that thinks the Antigonish class action settlement is fair and reasonable.

This class action has always been about doing what is right for survivors of sexual abuse. Now that Justice MacAdam has approved the class action settlement, survivors have a choice.

In 2002, Ronald Martin received a telephone call that his brother, David Martin, had been missing in the woods of British Columbia for 2 weeks. Sixteen days later David’s body was found, with a suicide note stating he had taken his life because he could not endure the pain caused by sexual abuse he had suffered as a child at the hands of Father Hugh Vincent MacDonald, a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Antigonish.

A Promise

Ron Martin had been sexually abused by the same priest but neither brother was aware of what the other had suffered. On the day that Ron Martin had to identify his brother’s body, he made a promise that there would be accountability for the abuse they had suffered.

A Difficult Journey

David Martin’s death was the start of an arduous journey for Ron Martin. After learning there were many other victims, all suffering as he and his brother did, all needing justice and accountability from the Church, Ron decided to file a class action against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish and Bishop Raymond Lahey.

Historic Settlement

After months of emotionally draining negotiations, Ron Martin and the Diocese reached an historic agreement to compensate anyone who had been sexually abused by priests of the Diocese between 1950 and 2009.

Dignified Process

The class action settlement creates a dignified, confidential and fair process that:

• Required the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish to publicly acknowledge its responsibility to victims of sexual abuse and apologize for its role in failing to protect children from sexually abusive priests;

• Creates a fund of up to 15 million dollars to provide survivors with compensation without having to be re-victimized by the rigours of a public trial;

• Creates a streamlined, faster process to determine compensation;

• Requires the Diocese to give up legal defences that have been used to defeat victim’s claims in the past.

Court Approves the Settlement

The settlement was approved by the Honourable Justice David MacAdam of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court. His Lordship found that the settlement was fair, reasonable and in the best interest of class members. The Supreme Court has an ongoing responsibility to supervise the settlement to ensure survivors are treated fairly.

Confidentiality Key for Survivors

Confidentiality is a cornerstone of the agreement – not for the benefit of the Church which has publicly admitted its wrong doing, but for the benefit of the victims.

Many class members have never told their family or friends that they were sexually abused. They do not want this information becoming public. The confidentiality of the process means that victims do not have to fear the threat of public disclosure.

Furthermore, the confidentiality of the settlement does not bind class members. So survivors are free to talk publicly about their claims if they wish.

Choice is Important

Choice is also an important part of the settlement. The class action settlement provides sexual abuse survivors with a choice that they did not have before.

There may be survivors who chose the adversarial approach of litigation. If a survivor wants to file an individual lawsuit, they must file an “opt out” form with the Diocese by December 4, 2009.

Canada’s civil justice system may be one of the best in the world, but litigation is still time consuming, expensive and emotionally draining.

Public Trials can Re-Victimize Survivors

Public trials require victims of sexual abuse to relive their most painful and traumatic memories in the public eye. Simply put, traditional litigation is a battle that many victims of sexual abuse are not emotionally or psychologically capable of surviving.

Church Usually Fights Survivors

The Catholic Church is well aware of the challenges survivors of sexual abuse face in litigation. The traditional approach by the church has been to fight survivor’s claims vigorously. In Newfoundland, despite the findings of the Mount Cashel inquiry, the Diocese of St. John’s has been fighting lawsuits filed by victims of convicted sex abuser Father Jim Hickey for the past 11 years.

Declare Bankruptcy rather than Compensate Survivors?

In the United States seven catholic dioceses have declared bankruptcy rather than agree to compensate survivors. In Canada the catholic diocese of St. George’s declared bankruptcy after being sued by victims of convicted sex abuser Father Kevin Bennett.

In negotiating the settlement Ron Martin had to consider that the Diocese of Antigonish does not have unlimited financial resources. Every dollar spent fighting survivors’ is a dollar that cannot be spent to compensate survivors.

Class Members Protected

A major concession made by the Diocese in the class action was to provide a security agreement on all it’s property to guarantee it’s financial obligations to the members of the class action.

If they do not opt out, survivors are automatically eligible to participate in the class action.

Application Dates

Survivors must apply for compensation by March 10, 2010. The time to apply may be extended to September 6, 2010 with permission of the Court.

Class Action a Victory for Survivors

The criticism leveled against the class action settlement is essentially that the class action is different from traditional litigation. That is true – and we see that as a victory for survivors.

Survivors Will Decide What is Best

Survivors should decide for themselves how they want to resolve their claims. In the end, each survivor will decide what is best for them: a public trial, or the confidentiality of the class action settlement.

A Better Way

Ron Martin and I believe that the settlement provides a better way for survivors of sexual abuse to receive compensation and closure in a safer way than traditional litigation. The process is dignified, confidential and fair.

Keeping a Promise

This settlement is not about the church; it is about the children who were sexually abused. It is about helping them achieve closure and accountability. It is about finding a way for survivors and the church to move forward. Last but not least, it is about Ron Martin fulfilling the promise he made to his brother David.

Continue reading "Why the Antigonish Diocese Sexual Abuse Class Action Settlement is the Right Thing to do." »

Pope Accepts Lahey's Resignation
The Pope has accepted the resignation of Bishop Raymond Lahey from the post of Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish.

I have received calls from victims wondering what effect the Bishop's resignation will have on the Class action settlement to compensate survivors of sexual abuse by priests of the Antigonish Diocese.

Compensation Process Will Continue

The answer is that the class action settlement is a binding contract that has been approved by the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. The Bishop's resignation will have no effect of the obligations of the Diocese to compensate survivors in accordance with the terms of the settlement agreement.

A spokesperson for the Diocese confirmed that the Bishop's resignation will not change the Diocese's commitment to survivors. Spokesperson for the Diocese, Father Paul Abbass said:

"After having spoken with Archbishop Mancini, I want to assure everyone, and particularly the victims of sexual abuse, that nothing in the recent court approved class action settlement agreement will change as a consequence of this transition in leadership,"

"Our settlement agreement is more than a legally binding document. It is a call to justice and reconciliation. It involves painful spiritual healing, profound understanding from all and difficult financial sacrifices. While the resignation of our former Bishop will be a loss to our Diocese in many ways, his departure does not diminish the legal and spiritual commitments we have made."

Here are more media reports about Ron Martin's class action against the Diocese of Antigonish.

N.S. Church Parishes to Pay in Sex-Abuse Settlement CBC

Interview with Bishop Raymond Lahey CBC Information Morning (requires Real Player)

Diocese to Pay $13 Million to Abuse Victims Chronicle Herald

Brother Fulfills Promise with Sexual Abuse Class Action Suit Metro News

Diocese Gives Settlement, Apology to Abuse Victims Port Hawkesbury Reporter

Diocese Settles Lawsuit for $13 Million Antigonish Casket

Sex Abuse Settlement by Church Historic TheSpec.com

Historic Settlement Reached Cape Breton Post

More Information

If you or a family member were sexually abused by a priest that was a member of the Antigonish Diocese between 1950 and 2009 you may be eligible for compensation under the class action settlement. You can contact me for more information or call my assistant Sarah Winfield toll free in Atlantic Canada at 1 (877) 423-2050 to arrange an appointment.

I am pleased to announce that Ronald Martin’s class action against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish on behalf of persons who were sexually abused by priests employed by the Diocese has been settled.

Settlement Agreement

At a press conference today, Ron Martin and Bishop Raymond Lahey signed a settlement agreement to resolve the class action lawsuit.

13 Million Dollars

The Diocese of Antigonish has agreed to a fund of up to 13 million dollars to compensate anyone who was sexually abused by a priest that was a member of the Antigonish Diocese.

Private Compensation Process

The settlement also creates a private process where survivors claims can be evaluated in a private, confidential manner and receive fair and reasonable compensation.

You can find out more about the terms of the class action settlement on my website www.novascotiaclassaction.com

You can read a copy of the official Court Notice announcing the terms of the settlement.

Approval Hearing in September

The class action is still subject to approval by the court. Justice David MacAdam of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court will hold a hearing on September 10 and 11, 2009, to determine whether the class action can be certified and to review and approve the Settlement Agreement.

If you or a family member were sexually abused by a priest that was a member of the Antigonish Diocese between 1950 and 2009 you may be eligible for compensation under the class action settlement. You can contact me for more information or call my assistant Sarah Winfield toll free in Atlantic Canada at 1 (877) 423-2050 to arrange an appointment.

Media Reports

N.S. diocese makes $13M sex-abuse settlement

Settlement reached in lawsuit against N.S. diocese over alleged sex abuse

Canadian diocese pays millions to abuse victims

N.S. diocese reaches $13-million settlement in abuse case

N.S. diocese to pay $13M to sexually abused victims

The sexual abuse scandal in catholic schools in Ireland has documented a “substantial level of sexual abuse” in Catholic run schools in Ireland.

Now, TV3 has produced a documentary called “Abuse of Trust: Sins of the Fathers” which documents some of the horror stories of sexual abuse by priests who were part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin.

The documentary uncovers a pattern that has been repeated time and time again in countries around the world. Roman Catholic Priests sexually abusing children and persons of authority within the church covering up the allegations and moving sexually predatory priests from parish to parish.

I represent Ron Martin who has filed a proposed class action against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish on behalf of victims who were sexually abused by priests who were employed by the Diocese of Antigonish. If you or a family member were victimized by a priest who was part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish you can contact me through this blog, or by calling toll free 1-877-423-2050, for more information.

After ten years of investigations a government inquiry into sexual abuse in Catholic run schools, orphanages and hospitals has released an exhaustive and damning report.

Abuse Endemic
The inquiry commission uncovered:

...a substantial level of sexual abuse of boys in care that extended over a range from improper touching and fondling to rape with violence.

Corporal punishment in girls’ schools was:

pervasive, severe, arbitrary and unpredictable.

Church Knew About Dangers

The Commission determind that:

The recidivist nature of sexual abuse was known to religious authorities.

Church Concerned About Reputation, Not Risk to Children

Time and time again we have seen how the Catholic Church values it's reputation more that the lives of the children under it's care. The same pattern repeated itself in Ireland:

The risk was seen by the congregations in terms of potential for scandal and bad publicity should the abuse be disclosed. The danger to children was not taken into account.

If you have been a victim of sexual abuse by a priest, or any person in authority, please, please please tell someone. Silence only protects the abusers and the institutions that harbour them.

I have represented hundreds of victims of childhood sexual abuse in claims for compensation. As a public service I have prepared a resource guide for survivors of sexual abuse in Atlantic Canada. The guide contains a list of support groups throughout the Maritimes for survivors of sexual abuse.

You can receive a free copy of The Survivor's Guide to Abuse Compensation Claims by contacting me through this blog, or my website at www.apmlawyers.com or by calling toll free in Atlantic Canada 1-877-423-2050.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of London, Ontario has agreed to pay Lou-Anne Soontiens $1,745,000.00, plus legal costs to compensate her for years of sexual abuse she suffered as a child at the hands of Father Charles Sylvestre. The total value of the settlement is thought to be more than 2.2 million dollars.

Sylvestre, one of Canada’s most notorious pedophiles was convicted of sexually assaulting Sootiens.

CBC's Fifth Estate aired a documentary about Sylvestre called "The Good Father". As you will see from watching the documentary it is apparent that persons of authority within the Catholic Church knew about Sylvestre’s sexual abuse but did nothing to protect his victims.

I have posted about Sylvestre's predatory abuse in the past. See also, Sex Abuse help Fund Doubled.

The effects of childhood sexual abuse can be devasting. Although the scars my not be visible, the damage caused to the victims can be totally disabling. Because of the psychological effects of their abuse, many victims are not able to bring forward their claims on their own behalf.

My client Ron Martin has filed a class action against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish on behalf of persons that suffered sexual abuse by priests that who were members of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish.

If you or a family member were a victim of sexual abuse by a priest from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish you can contact me, or take a look at my website for more information about the class action.

Continue reading "Victim of Priest Sexual Abuse Receives 1.75 Million Dollar Settlement" »

Residential School Survivors Meet Pope

A group of Survivors from Canada’s Indian Residential Schools had a private audience with Pope Benedict. The delegation was led by assembly of First Nations Chief Phil Fontaine. The group also includes one of the survivors of the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School, Membertou Chief Terry Paul.

Pope Apologizes to Abuse Survivors

The Survivors received a personal apology from the Pope on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church for its "deplorable" role in Canada’s Indian Residential School system.

Late update: It appears that media reports of the Pope's apology (like Mark Twain's death) have been greatly exaggerated. Reports now indicate that the Pope did not apologize or acknowlege the Catholic Churches role in the abuse suffered by children in the residential schools. rather he expressed "sorrow" for the suffering of the children.

Students Suffered Physical and Sexual Abuse

There were about 130 Indian Residential Schools across Canada and 75% of the schools were run by the Catholic Church. Students at the schools were taken from their families and placed in the schools where many of them suffered horrible physical abuse, sexual abuse and loss of their language and culture.

Previous Apologies

Until today, the Catholic Church had never apologized for the horrible abuse at Church run schools. Other religious organizations that ran schools have long since issued apologies, including the Anglican Church in 1993, the Presbyterian Church in 1994 and the United Church of Canada in 1998. Prime Minister Stephen Harper also offered an apology on behalf of the Government of Canada in June of last year.

Nora Bernard Filed First Class Action

The greatest honour I have ever had as a lawyer was representing Nora Bernard and the other Survivors of the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School in their fight for compensation for what happened to them as a result of the Residential School system.

Nora filed the first class action against the Government of Canada and the Catholic Church seeking compensation for loss of language and culture for Residential School Survivors. Nora’s claim played an important role in the five billion dollar Indian Residential School Class Action Settlement, the largest historical redress settlement in the world.

I am sure Nora was watching today. I think I can sum up what her reaction would be in three words: "It's about time!"

Wela'lieg

Update:

I have been reading further media reports of this mornings meeting. Apparently earlier reports that the Pope apologized are incorrect. Instead the Pope expressed "sorrow" for the "deplorable" treatment of aboriginal children in catholic run residential schools.

But the Pope did not go so far as to apologize or admit that the Catholic Church had any responsibility for the physical and sexual abuse suffered by children in the schools.

The Canadian government and every single religious organization that ran the residential schools (except the catholic Church) have acknowledged their personal responsibility and apologized for the horrible abuse that took place in the Residential schools.

How can the Catholic Church ever hope to receive forgiveness from residential school survivors if it won't take responsibility for it's actions?

What do you think?

Technorati Profile

There have been new developments in the class action filed against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish. The class action was filed by Ron Martin on behalf of all persons who were sexually abused by priests who were members of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish.

Case Management Judge Assigned

Justice John Murphy has been assigned to case manage the class action lawsuit. Justice Murphy will be in charge of ensuring that the class action moves forward in an orderly fashion.

Court Date Set

The Certification hearing for the Antigonish Diocese Class Action has been scheduled to take place in Halifax, August 4, 5 and 6, 2009.

The certification hearing is basically a "mini-trial" where the court determines whether there is sufficient evidence to allow Ron Martin and the other people who alleged that they were sexually abused by priests from the Antigonish Diocese to proceed with their claim as a group . If the certification motion fails, then each sexual abuse survivor will be forced to file individual lawsuits if they want to make a claim for compensation.

Who Can Join the Class Action?

If you were a victim of sexual abuse by a priest that was a member of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish, you are entitled to participate in the class action. We have prepared an information package about the class action lawsuit that we will provide, free of charge. If you would like to receive a copy of the information package, please contact my office by calling toll free 1 (877) 423 2050 or by contacting me through this blog.

More Information

For more background information about the class action lawsuit you can read some of the Media Reports about the Antigonish Diocese Sexual Abuse Class Action.

Antigonish Diocese Priest Sexual Abuse Class Action

Last week the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador ruled that the Roman Catholic Church in St. John’s was responsible for the sexual abuse of eight former altar boys by disgraced priest, Reverend James Hickey.

Priest Convicted of Abusing Alter Boys

Hickey was criminally charged ten years ago with sexually abusing the boys while he was a parish priest on the Burin Peninsula. He was convicted and spent five years in prison.

Church Fights Victims for 10 Years

Despite Hickey’s criminal conviction the Roman Catholic Church has fought the victim’s claims for compensation tooth and nail for almost 10 years.

Destroyed Faith in God

Gregory Stack, who represented the abuse survivors, told CBC News that the sexual abuse didn’t just destroy the victims physically or psychologically, the sexual abuse destroyed their faith in God.

“The boys…generally came from the more devout catholic homes. The more devout, the more religious parents that pushed their children to become altar boys, and these were the boys who were victimized by the parish priest.

It is the whole coupling of that- the sense that god has abused them. And that’s what they believed in those small communities. By in large, the parish priest was a god-like figure”

This is just another sad example of how the Catholic Church is prepared to fight to it's last penny rather than acknowledge it's responsibility to the victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests.

Supreme Court Rules Church Responsible for Sexual Abuse

Six years ago the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the Roman Catholic Church is responsible (vicariously liable) for sexual abuse by it's Priests. In Doe v. Bennett (another priest abuse case from Newfoundland) the court ruled that the Roman Catholic Church was responsible for the sexual abuse perpetrated by it's priests because of the power and authority over parishioners that the Church gave to it's priests.

The Supreme Court of Canada stated that:

“The relationship between the bishop and the priest in the Diocese is not only spiritual but temporal.

First, the Bishop provided Bennett with the opportunity to abuse his power.

Second, Bennett’s wrongful acts were strongly related to the psychological intimacy inherent in his role as priest.

Third, the Bishop conferred an enormous degree of power on Bennett relative to his victims”

The Catholic Church’s refusal to acknowledge its responsibility to Hickey’s victims simply perpetuates the view that the Catholic Church cares more about its reputation than it does about protecting vulnerable and innocent children from sexual abuse.

Related Posts:

Do Myths About Child Abuse Explain The Church Sex Abuse Scandals?

Sexual Abuse: Not Just a Catholic Problem?

Does the Catholic Church Attract Sexual Abusers…or Create Them?

Supreme Court of Canada Clarifies Burden of Proof for Sexual Abuse Victims

C.T.V.’s Native Affairs program First Story has aired a documentary on the life of Nora Bernard.

I was pleased to have participated in the documentary honouring my friend and client, Nora Bernard.

First Story takes a retrospective look at Nora’s fight for compensation for survivors against the Government of Canada and the Catholic Church on behalf of former residential school students across Canada and the legacy she left for Residential School Survivors across Canada.

You can watch the documentary by clicking here (Nora’s documentary is found in part 3 and part 4 of the program).

For more information about Nora Bernard, and the class action settlement on behalf of Indian Residential School students, you can check out my firm's website.

In a landmark ruling, the Court of Appeals in Cincinnati has allowed a lawsuit over alleged sexual abuse by Catholic priests to proceed against the Vatican.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that lawyers for the Vatican tried to strike out the plaintiffs’ lawsuits under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, a U.S. federal law that governs when a foreign Country can be sued. The U.S. law contains a number of restrictions that limit the ability to sue a foreign state.

The Cincinnati Court of Appeals confirmed that the Vatican is a foreign state, and therefore eligible for sovereign immunity. However, the court determined that the plaintiffs were able to continue their lawsuit under an exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act which allows lawsuits for damages caused by “tortious acts” of a foreign State.

The plaintiffs’ law suit claims that U.S. bishops are employees of the Vatican and that the Vatican and bishops have engaged in a coordinated policy of covering up acts of sexual abuse by priests.
You can read the Court of Appeal’s decision here.

Here is Canada, the relevant legislation is the State Immunity Act. The restrictions under Canada's legislation are not as onerous as the U.S. legislation and the Canadian legislation clearly permits claims for personal injury:

6. A foreign state is not immune from the jurisdiction of a court in any proceedings that relate to
(a) any death or personal or bodily injury, or
(b) any damage to or loss of property that occurs in Canada.

Here in Nova Scotia, Ronald Martin has filed a class action lawsuit against the bishops of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish for sexual abuse perpetrated by various priests who were employed by the Antigonish Diocese between 1950 and 1980.

Related posts:
Documentary Explores Vatican Sexual Abuse Cover Up
Lawyer wants to Question Pope about Sex Abuse Cover Ups
Lawsuit against Vatican can proceed

Continue reading "Vatican Can Be Sued For Priest Sexual Abuse: U.S. Court of Appeals" »

The Vatican has issued guidelines for psychological screening of new priests. The Associated Press has reported that the guidelines were issued in response to sexual abuse scandals that have cost the Roman Catholic Church hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements for victims of sexual abuse.

Weeding Out Psychopaths

According to AP, the guidelines are supposed to help church leaders weed out candidates with "psychopathic disturbances."

Scapegoating Homosexuals?

The BBC has reported that the voluntary tests should also aim to vet for those with "deep-seated homosexual tendencies". Of course being homosexual has nothing to do with whether someone is more likely to commit sexual abuse. Needless to say, Gay rights groups have denounced the guidelines as unfairly targeting homosexuals.

Is It Enough?

SNAP (The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests) has responded by claiming that the screening guidelines do not go far enough. SNAP has called for an end to what SNAP calls the church's "virtually unchanged culture of secrecy and unchecked power in the hierarchy" that left dangerous priests in parishes.

Is the Catholic Church the Problem?

I have posted before about research that suggests that the way in which the Catholic Church educates/trains it's priests may actually create sexual abusers.

Only the First Step

Screening out people who may be potential sexual abusers is a good first step. But the screening, which is now voluntary, needs to be mandatory.

But the bigger problem, one that the Church has so far failed to address, is the culture of secrecy that still permeates the Church. There are persons in authority throughout the catholic Church that will do anything to protect the reputation of the Church. Even at the expense of innocent victims of sexual abuse.

Continue reading "Vatican Issues Guidelines for Psychological Screening of Priests: What took so long? " »

Yesterday the Supreme Court of Canada restored a finding of civil liability for sexual assaults committed by an Oblate Brother against a former Indian Residential School Student decades ago and confirmed the burden of proof that victims of historical sexual assaults must meet if they pursue civil claim for compensation.

In F.H. v. McDougall the Supreme Court of Canada upheld a finding of civil liability against Ian Hugh McDougall, a former teacher at the Meares Island Indian Residential school. McDougall was originally found liable in B.C. Supreme Court, but the judgment was overturned by the B.C. Court of Appeal.

The B.C. Court of Appeal ruled that the testimony of adult victims about sexual assaults that happened during childhood require independent corroboration.

“[t]o choose one over the other . . . requires . . . an articulated reason founded in evidence other than that of the plaintiff”

The judgment of the Supreme Court of Canada was delivered by Rothstein J. He considered whether there was a shifting burden of proof in Canada or if allegations of criminal misconduct should carry a higher burden of proof similar to the burden in criminal prosecutions.

Justice Rothstein emphatically laid the debate to rest:

"...I would reaffirm that in civil cases there is only one standard of proof and that is proof on a balance of probabilities. In all civil cases, the trial judge must scrutinize the relevant evidence with care to determine whether it is more likely than not that an alleged event occurred."

With respect to the supposed requirement for corroborating witnesses, Rothstein J. said:

"Corroborative evidence is always helpful and does strengthen the evidence of the party relying on it as I believe Rowles J.A. was implying in her comments. However, it is not a legal requirement and indeed may not be available, especially where the alleged incidents took place decades earlier. Incidents of sexual assault normally occur in private."

The McDougall decision is incredibly important for those of us that represent victims of childhood sexual abuse.

Had the B.C. Court of Appeal ruling not been overturned it would have created huge barrier for victims of childhood abuse to receive justice. Childhood sexual abuse is a crime of secrecy. There are rarely any witnesses to childhood sexual abuse and to require independent corroboration from witnesses would, effectively, deny the rights of victims to pursue justice in the civil courts.

You can read more about the burden of proof in civil claims on my website www.apmlawyers.com.

Continue reading "Supreme Court of Canada Clarifies Burden of Proof for Sexual Abuse Victims" »

Perry Dunlop, a former Cornwall Ontario police officer whose investigation launched a huge criminal investigation in the 1990s is still in jail.

Contempt of Court

Dunlop refused to testify before the Cornwall public inquiry and was sentenced to 6 months in jail. Yesterday he was sentenced to another 30 days in jail for a criminal conviction of contempt of court.

Sentence Reduced for "Hardship"

The National Post has reported that the judges who sentenced Dunlop said he would normally receive another three months in jail. But the judges reduced his sentence because of the hardship to his family and the fact Dunlop has been in protective custody as a former police officer.

Dunlop Started Sex Abuse Investigation

Dunlop triggered a huge investigation into allegations of sexual abuse by more than a dozen men between 1950 and 1980 after he learned that the Cornwall Catholic Diocese had paid a former alter boy $32,000.00 to drop his sexual abuse complaints against 2 priests.

Bishop Knew About Abusive Priests

While Dunlop sits in jail, Bishop Eugene Larocque, who approved the payments to the alter boy testified before the inquiry that he knew about allegations of sexual abuse against his priests and he even lobbied to have a priest who had been convicted of sodomizing 2 teenagers brought into his Diocese.

So the police officer who uncovered sexual abuse by priests in Cornwall Diocese sits in jail while the Bishop who was responsible for knowingly hiring sexually abusive priests remains free.

Where is the justice in that?

The Cape Breton Post has published an update on Ron Martin's class action against the Antigonish Diocese.

You can read the story here.

Here is some of the media coverage of Ron Martin's class action on behalf of persons who were sexually abused by priests from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish.

Sex-abuse suit alleges conspiracy by Catholic Church: CBC News

Class-action suit filed against Roman Catholic diocese in N.S. over alleged abuse: The Canadian Press

Church facing class action (Suit alleges Catholic diocese failed to protect kids from abuse) : Chronicle Herald

N.S. Catholic bishop: Church open to helping sex abuse victims: Canadian Press

Class-action filed against N.S. Catholic diocese: Canwest News

N.S. Roman Catholic bishop says church open to helping sexual abuse victims: Canadian Press

Victims of priest abuse will get 'fair treatment,' diocese says: Chronicle Herald

Diocese named in sex abuse suit offers court alternative: CBC

Lawyer expects more sex abuse victims to join class action: Cape Breton Post

Plantiff says he wants to save Catholic Church: Cape Breton Post

An Interview with Ron Martin on CBC Mainstreet (Requires RealAudio player) Download file

Interview with lawyer for Antigonish Diocese on CBC radio (Requires RealAudio player) Download file

If you or a family member suffered sexual abuse by a priest that was part of the Antigonish Diocese you can contact me for further information through the contact form on this blog or by calling toll free 1-877-43-2050.

Our firm has filed a class action against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish for compensation for victims of sexual abuse by priests from the Diocese.

The claim is the first class action in Nova Scotia filed under the new Class Proceedings Act.

The representative plaintiff is Ronald Martin. Ron's brother of David Martin committed suicide 6 years ago. David's suicide note revealed that he had been sexually abused by Father Hugh Vincent MacDonald, a former priest of the Antigonish Diocese.

A criminal investigation by the RCMP and the Cape Breton Regional Police lead to charges of rape, buggery and indecent assault against Hugh Vincent MacDonald involving more than 15 children in incidents spanning the 1960's and 1970's.

Several priests from the Antigonish Diocese have been previously convicted of sexually abusing children from the Diocese including Clair Richard, Claude Richard, and James Mombourquette.

Ronald Martin has written an open letter to other survivors of sexual abuse by priests from the Antigonish Diocese.

In the letter, Ron Martin explains why he was motivated to file the class action:

The only thing that I had asked for was an acceptance of responsibility for what happened to David, to us, and all the others who had been abused by a representative of the church.

The class action claims that the Roman Catholic Church, the Bishop of Antigonish and the R.C. Diocese of Antigonish sent priests from the Diocese for treatment for "sexual deviations". The class action claims that the Defendants, following the instructions of the Pope, kept the priests' sexual deviance secret and failed to warn or protect children within the Diocese.

If you or a family member have been a victim of sexual abuse by a priest from the Antigonish Diocese you can contact me for more information through this blog, or by calling toll free 1-877-423-2050.

Vows of Silence is a new documentary by journalist Jason Berry, that explores Fr. Marciel Maciel Degollado, and the Catholic group, Legionaries of Christ.

The Vatican eventually found Maciel Degollado guilty of multiple acts of sexual abuse spanning decades. His punishment? His public ministry was restricted.

The documentary also examines the role of the last two Popes in covering up allegations of sexual abuse against Maciel Degollado and the extent to which the Vatican went to protect a serial predator.

You can read more stories about Maciel Degollado here.

The Catholic Church has been dealing with an epidemic of sexual abuse claims that have come to light over the past decade in the United states and here in Canada.

I have posted about research which suggests one reason why the Catholic Church has had such difficulty coming to terms with the reality of sexual abuse by it's priests: Do Myths About Child Abuse Explain The Church Sex Abuse Scandals?

Some pople have even suggested that the institutional structure of the Catholic Church may play a role in creating sexual abusers: Does the Catholic Church attract sexual abusers…or create them?

What do you think?

Continue reading "Documentary Explores Vatican Sexual Abuse Cover Up" »

Episcopal Bishop Charles Bennison is on trial in ecclesiastical court facing accusations that he covered up sexual abuse by his brother, who is also a priest, on a 14 year old girl.

The Bishop is not facing criminal charges, nor is he being sued in civil court. The trial is taking place under the rules of canon (church) law. A panel of 5 bishops, 2 clergy and 2 lay members will decide whether Bennsion violated church rules Title IV of the Canons of the Episcopal Church by failing to disclose that his brother, John Bennison was having sexual relations with an underage female parishioner.

The Philidelphia Bulletin has reported that :

The bishop's younger brother John allegedly had illicit sex with a girl beginning in 1971 when she was a 14-year-old member of St. Mark's Church in Upland, Calif., and he was a 24-year-old seminary student. The sexual relationship lasted until 1974, the year she departed for college.

The first day of the "trial" heard graphic testimony from the victim, who said:

...Bishop Bennison stumbled in on his brother John's sexual activity with her, "saw his erection", turned on his heel in the church office and walked away.

If Bishop Bennison is found guilty of violating Church rules, he will not face criminal charges, but the panel could remove him as Bishop of the Diocese.

The trial continues this week.

UPDATE JUNE 27, 2008

Bishop Bennison has been convicted of concealing his brother's sexual abuse.

This case is only the third time in 232 years that a Bishop has been put on trial by the Episcopal Church USA.

You can read more here.

Paul Shanley the notorious defrocked priest and convicted sex abuser that was the center of the Boston priest sexual abuse scandal has appealed his conviction on charges of repeatedly raping and fondling a boy at a Newton parish in the 1980s.

Shanley claims that his lawyer at his trial did not do a good enough job challenging the admissibility of the victim’s “repressed memories” of the childhood sexual abuse.

The District Attorney who prosecuted Shanley, Gerry Leone was quoted as saying:

"The concept of recovered memory by victims of abuse has been accepted by both the scientific and legal communities, as well as the jury who convicted Mr. Shanley after hearing the full evidence in this case," Leone said. "We remain confident in the jury's verdict."

Repressed Memory: What is it?

It is common for us to consciously repress unpleasant memories. In other words, we know what happened, but we chose not to think about it.

Repressed memory is the memory of a traumatic event that has been unconsciously repressed. In other words, the victim of a traumatic event has no conscious memory of a traumatic event because his or her subconscious has repressed the memory. Repressed memories can be recalled after being triggered, usually by another traumatic event.

Does Repressed Memory Exist?

There is mixed scientific opinion about whether repressed memory really exists. Some professionals deny the existence of repressed memories. Some are sceptical despite peer-reviewed studies and clinical studies that continue to document the phenomenon.

So What's the Answer?

The reality is that the validity of repressed memories may have a great to do with the way in which the memories were recovered. You can read an interesting examination of the issue from the University of Washington: The Reality of Repressed Memories.

I have been representing survivors of childhood sexual abuse for more than 15 years. I have no doubt that traumatic memories of something as horrifying as childhood sexual abuse can be repressed by the unconscious mind as a protection mechanism.

That is not to say that I think all repressed memories are true. But in my experience a careful examination of all the facts surrounding each particular case usually provides evidence to corroborate the accuracy of most victims’ repressed memories.

What do you think? Have you ever experienced the recovery of a repressed memory? Do you think repressed memories even exist?

Continue reading "Priest Sex Abuser Appeals Conviction: Denies Existence of Repressed Memory" »

Le Soleil has reported that Denis Tremblay, a priest from Sainte-Martine accused of sexual abuse, has elected trial by judge and jury.

Tremblay was a priest at Sainte-Martine for more than 20 years. He is charged with sexual molestation, indecent exposure and indecency on a person over whom he had authority.

The acts allegedly took place over a 40-year-period, between 1968 and 2007.

Perry Dunlop a former police officer who is currently serving a jail sentence for refusing to testify at the Cornwall Sexual Abuse inquiry he helped spark is appealing his contempt conviction, but still has no plans to give evidence at the sex-abuse probe.

The Canadian Press has reported that Dunlop has retained Ottawa lawyer Lawrence Greenspon to handle the appeal, which he initially filed himself as an inmate.

I have posted about Dunlop's refusal to cooperate with the inquiry before.

I can sympathize with Dunlop's frustration over the failure of the criminal investigations that he initiated. I can even admire his principled stance.

But I do think that the inquiry would be better served, and victims of abuse would be better served, by hearing from Dunlop.

What do you think?

A jury has awarded a man who was sexually abused by Roman Catholic priest Rev. Edward Paquette $8.7 million dollars. The Burlington Free press has reported that the jury deliberated for almost five hours before returning with their verdict.

The jury verdict was for $950,000 in compensatory damages (what is typically referred to as compensation for "pain and suffering") and $7.75 million in punitive damages.

I posted about this case when the trial started last week, and last year when the Bishop of the Diocese of Vermont threatened to sue Indiana's Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese for failing to disclose prior complaints of sexual abuse against Paquette.

The lawyer for the Plaintiff had actually asked the judge to declare a mistrial because of statements made by the Diocese's lawyer during closing arguments:

"It was like a hate speech, inflammatory and highly prejudicial in many respects."

The lawyer for the Diocese, Thomas McCormick, compared the victim's lawsuit to winning the lottery:

“This isn’t a state where lawsuits turn into lotteries. You represent the community. You know that’s an absurdity.”

I have represented hundreds of victims of childhood sexual abuse and sexual abuse by priests for more than 15 years. Unfortunately, the appalling statements expressed by the Diocese's lawyer in the Vermont case are all to common.

While the attitude of defendants in sexual abuse cases in Canada is much the same as the United States, the dollars involved are very different.

In one case where I represented a victim who had been raped by a priest, the lawyer for the Diocese said to me: "no amount of money is going to change what happened so why should we try to put a dollar value on it?"

In Canada punitive damages are rare, and when they are awarded seldom exceed $1 million dollars. Compensation for "pain and suffering" is capped at about $300 thousand dollars and the average award across Canada is now only $125 thousand dollars.

If McCormick had been raped as a child and had his life destroyed would he have considered himself lucky to have hit the jackpot for $125 thousand dollars?

I don't think so.

A lawyer representing three men who say that since 1962 the Vatican orchestrated a coverup of priests sexually abusing children in the United States wants a court order allowing him to question the pope about what the Catholic Church knew about sex abuse allegations.

I posted about how the Church tried unsuccessfully to stop the lawsuit last year.

The lawsuit is based, in part, on instructions that the Vatican sent in 1962 to Bishops worldwide instructing them to keep allegations of priest sexual abuse confidential, at the risk of excommunication.

In a report from Louisville KY lawyer William McMurry, who represents the men, said:

The passage of time not only raises questions of Pope Benedict XVI's continued availability but also increases the likelihood that his memory of events dating back many years will grow less reliable,

McMurry says the Popes testimony is important because before he was pope, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith and oversaw reports of sexual abuse by priests. That office, along with its predecessor, the Congregation of the Holy Office, were directly involved with the investigation of sexual abuse by clerics.

In May 2001 then Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) sent a letter to Bishops confirming that the 1962 code of secrecy remained in effect.

There have been several lawsuits that have tried unsuccessfully to sue the vatican or the Pope for their role in the pries sexual abuse scandals. So far they have all been struck out on the basis of sovereign immunity.

The Pope recently visited the United States where he issued an apology (sort of) for the priest abuse claims that have rocked North America. However, the Pope blamed the abuse on individual priests and failed to acknowlege the role he and the Church may have had in allowing the abuse to continue for decades.

"It is a great suffering for the church in the United States and for the church in general and for me personally that this could happen," Benedict said. "It is difficult for me to understand how it was possible that priests betray in this way their mission ... to these children."

One might also ask how those who knew about the abusive priests could have betrayed the children who were their victims.

In the unlikely event that the Pope is ordered to testify in McMurray's case, it will be interesting to see how the Pope explains his role in the priest sexual abuse crisis.

A preliminary inquiry has started for Bernard Cloutier, a Roman Catholic priest charged with sexually assaulting several young boys over a decade at various parishes in Northern Ontario.

It is alleged the incidents involving Bernard Cloutier began in 1974 and continued until April 1983. He has pleaded not guilty to the 22 charges he is facing.

The preliminary inquiry will determine if there is sufficient evidence for the charges to proceed to trial.

The North Bay Nugget reported:

Bishop Jean-Louis Plouffe, the spiritual head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie, said Cloutier, like other priests facing or convicted of charges of sexual misconduct in the diocese, is now only allowed to say mass privately.

I first posted about the charges against Cloutier almost a year ago.

You can read more here and here.

A preliminary inquiry has started for Bernard Cloutier, a Roman Catholic priest charged with sexually assaulting several young boys over a decade at various parishes in Northern Ontario.

It is alleged the incidents involving Bernard Cloutier began in 1974 and continued until April 1983. He has pleaded not guilty to the 22 charges he is facing.

The preliminary inquiry will determine if there is sufficient evidence for the charges to proceed to trial.

The North Bay Nugget reported:

Bishop Jean-Louis Plouffe, the spiritual head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie, said Cloutier, like other priests facing or convicted of charges of sexual misconduct in the diocese, is now only allowed to say mass privately.

I first posted about the charges against Cloutier almost a year ago.

You can read more here and here.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Vermont has been sued over allegations that the Bishop ignored previous allegations of sexual abuse when the Diocese hired Rev. Edward Paquette.

In a trial that started this week, Monsignor John McSweeney, who was chancellor of the Vermont diocese and handled details of hiring priests for then-Bishop John Marshall in the 1970s, testified that he did not know about such allegations until he reviewed church documents recently.

The documents, which chronicle the steps the Vermont diocese took while considering whether to hire Paquette in 1972, include several mentions of the alleged misconduct in letters from out-of-state church officials to McSweeney.

"Wasn't that a red flag for you to say the diocese ought to take a look at this," plaintiff lawyer Jerome O'Neill asked McSweeney.

"In retrospect, yes," McSweeney said.

You can read more about the trial here.

I have mentioned this case before. In a stunning example of hypocrisy, the Diocese of Vermont had threatened to sue Indiana's Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese for failing to disclose prior complaints of sexual abuse against Paquette. The response from Indiana was: "We told you so, and you hired him anyway."

Testimony this week apparently confirms that Paquette's history of sexual abuse allegations had been disclosed to the Diocese of Vermont when Paquette was hired.

Judge John R. O'Malley denied the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph summary judgment Friday, after hearing arguments based on Powel v. Chaminade, which added new wording to how the statute of limitations can be applied in sexual abuse claims. The ruling allows a court to consider when a plaintiff not only recalled the alleged abuse, but recognized the harm it inflicted.

O'Malley's decision allowed the lawsuit to proceed to a jury verdict. The Diocese settled within days.

The ruling means Missouri's law is now similar to Canada. The 1992 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada, M (K) v M (H), removed a major barrier to lawsuits by ruling that provincial limitation periods do not begin to run until the plaintiff is reasonably capable of discovering the wrongful nature of the defendant's acts and the nexus between those acts and the plaintiff's injuries.

Nova Scotia became the first Province to amend its Limitation of Actions Act to provide that the limitation period for sexual abuse cases does not start to run until the victim is aware of the full extent of the abuse and the injury suffered. In 1994, British Columbia amended its Limitation Act to eliminate all limitations for causes of action 'based on misconduct of a sexual nature' or 'based on sexual assault'. The rest of the Provinces enacted similar legislation shortly thereafter.

Catholic priest and convicted pedophile Claude Richard has changed his story about how times he sexually abused his victim. Richard pleaded guilty in June to assaulting the boy 20 to 30 times over a four-month period in 1987 but during his sentencing hearing Richard claimed to have had a "one night stand" with his 14 year old victim.

Claude Richard has pleaded guilty or been convicted of dozens of charges of sexually abusing children, many of whom were altar boys in various parishes throughout Cape Breton.

15 years ago I sued Claude Richard and his pedophile twin brother, Clair Richard on behalf of a dozen of their sexual abuse victims. During his examination for discovery Claude Richard denied, under oath, having sexually abused my clients… after he had already pleaded guilty to criminal charges of sexual assault against the same victims!

I have to wonder if there is some genetic connection between being a pedophile and being a pathological liar!

The Globe and Mail reports Anglican authorities have begun investigating the activities of a retired Anglican priest who was headmaster for two decades of a now-closed private Christian school where alleged abusive cult practices were carried out.

Bishop George Bruce is considering whether to exercise his authority under Canon Law to "inhibit" - suspend the priestly duties- of Rev. Charles Farnsworth.

Anglican Canon law specifically allows for inhibition in disciplinary inquiries "if it appears to the bishop that great scandal is likely to arise if a priest continues to perform the duties of his or her office while a charge is under investigation…"

Over the last 15 years I have represented many victims of clergy sexual abuse and read the reports of hundreds of other cases. I am not aware of any case where a Bishop has publically stated that he would exercise his power of inhibition. Bishop Bruce is to be commended for acting so quickly after the accusations became public. But it begs the question, what are the allegations that he thinks will cause "great scandal"? The details that have come out so far are pretty bizarre, involving accusations of physical abuse and psychological brainwashing.

This story is one to watch. Kathy Shaw has posted a number of stories about Farnsworth on the Abuse Tracker blog.

Yesterday the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego reached a settlement to compensate 144 victims of sexual abuse by priests within the Diocese.

The settlement will pay victims an average of 1.37 million dollars, slightly higher than the landmark $660 million settlement announced by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which will see average pay outs of 1.3 million dollars.

The settlement came after the San Diego Diocese declared bankruptcy to protect it's assests from the lawsuits filed by abuse victims. The Judge monitoring the Diocese's bankruptcy proceedings, Bankruptcy Judge Louise DeCarl Adler, was highly critical of the Diocese's conduct during the proceedings, stating that the financial reports filed by the Church contained "irregularities" and undervalued Church assets. At one point, the Judge threatened to dimiss the bankruptcy altogether, ending the protection from victim's lawsuits.

The settlement requires the Diocese to release internal documents proving the sexual abuse and the extent that Chuch officials were aware of the pedophile priests within the Diocese.

You can read more here.

In a move that is sure to generate sympathy for the Church, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles has stated it's intention to sell one of it's convents to help raise money to meet it's obligations under the $660 million abuse claims settlement.

It is unfortunate and unfair that the nuns who live in the convent will have to find another place to live because of the actions of pervert priests. But, it is important to remember who is responsible for this sad state of affairs. Not the victims of sexual abuse who had their lives destroyed. It is the predator priests who sexually abused children in their parishes and those in authority in the Church that knew about the abuse, covered it up, and allowed it to continue.

When is some journalist going to publish a story with the names of all the priests that covered up the sexual abuse for so many years? Then maybe the public can hold the proper people accountable.

Frank Douglas has posted another interesting article about the Los Angeles priest abuse settlement on his Voice from the Desert blog.

He highlights an important part of the Los Angeles settlement (perhaps the most important part); the requirement for the Archdiocese to release to the public documents about it's knowlege of the predatory habits of the Archdiocese's sexually abusive priests.

Sexual abuse thrives on secrecy. Sexual predators manipulate their victims through shame and guilt. The article points out that:

when the predators' names come out, other victims of the same perpetrator are often empowered to come forward.

Unfortunately, in some cases the names come out too late. In one case I am currently involved in David Martin took his own life because he could no longer deal with the pain of the sexual abuse he had suffered at the hands of Father Hugh Vincent MacDonald. His suicide note disclosing the abuse launched a police investigation that uncovered dozens of MacDonald's sexual abuse victims, most of whom I now represent. Unfortunately MacDonald died before he could be tried and convicted, robbing his victims of the opportunity to hold him accountable.

I read an interesting story comparing myths and facts about child sexual abuse. The author points to research which suggests one reason why the Catholic Church has had such difficulty coming to terms with the reality of sexual abuse by it's priests:

Males are less likely to believe victims complaints - particularly when sexual abuse is involved. Female respondents were more likely to believe victims who speak up. Males were more likely to believe children who made allegations of physical abuse. Men were not so likely to believe allegations of sexual abuse.

This is an interesting finding that needs more investigation. It could explain why it was so difficult to convince predominantly male law enforcement of the pervasive nature of this problem in our society and why it was so hard for the male leadership of the church to believe that their male colleagues were abusing children.

I have represented hundreds of victims of childhood sexual abuse and dozens of victims of priest sexual abuse. In most of those cases I was not convinced that the "male leadership of the church" did not believe the victim. On the contrary, the allegations were believed but the sexual offender was simply shuffled off to a different parish to continue his predations.

However I agree wholeheartedly with one of the authors conclusions:

None of us is immune to making assumptions. It is important to note, however, that these perceptions can and do influence treatment, investigations and community responses. Raising our awareness about these perceptions can help us be open to dealing with the situations that arise before us with integrity, compassion and empathy.

When we do that, we open the door to those who are suffering in our midst to speak up and tell us about their pain. That is the beginning of healing.

Take a look at the rest of the story here.

Sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests has cost the Catholic Church 2.3 BILLION dollars in settlements since 1950. The Journalgazette.net has published a story listing more than a billion dollars in abuse claim pay outs in the last four years alone.

Since the Catholic Church commonly insists on confidentiality when they settle lawsuits, one has to ask if these figures are just the tip of the iceberg.

Andrew Sullivan has posted about the debate surrounding the San Diego Roman Catholic Diocese's bankruptcy as a result of abuse claims. It appears the bankruptcy is being challenged due to allegations that the Diocese and some of it's parishes have been hiding assets in an effort to avoid paying compensation to survivors of clergy sexual abuse.

It is generally accepted at law that all the assets of a Diocese, including those of it's parishes, may be liquidated to satisfy civil judgements. The article states:

In response to the priest sex abuse liability crisis, there is a growing trend for diocesan assets to be divided among multiple incorporated entities.

In Canada the Christian Brothers of Ireland in Canada was the first charity in the Commonwealth to be wound up for tort liability (arising from the notorious Mt. Cashel abuse scandal.

In Canada there is an alternative argument to be made to prevent such egregious tactics by Churches. In the case of Re Winding up of the Christian Brothers of Ireland in Canada the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled:

When a charitable corporation is wound up, it ceases to carry out its charitable purposes, including the obligation to use assets held in trust for any special purposes. Hence, all assets held by the corporation, whether as a special purpose trust or not, were exigible to pay the tort claims made against the corporation.

Any assets held by an incorporated entity under Diocese are held for the charitable use and purpose of the Diocese. When that charitable purpose ends, so does any protection that the assets might have. Put simply, what could be less charitable than a Church trying to hide it's assets from legitimate victims of sexual abuse?

The Clerical Whispers blog has reported that 60 year old priest Father Edmund Cotter has been sebtenced to 5 years for sexually abusing 10 girls and 1 boy in the 1970's while he was a parish priest in Preston U.K.

The priest used his position of authority to threaten and manipulate his victims. He told one of his victims he was "like God" and that if she wasn't good she would burn in hell.

The Clerical Whispers blog is a great source of information about the inner working of the Catholic Church. It is worth looking at.

The Board of Directors of St. Ambrose University, Iowa has removed the name of Bishop Gerald O'Keefe from the library that was named in his honour.

The Board acted after a complaint by St. Ambrose alumnus, Mark Powell who was sexually abused by priests in the Davenport Diocese when O'Keefe was Bishop. Powell reported the abuse to Bishop O'Keefe who simply moved the abusive priests to other parishes. Diocese records confirm that O'Keefe was aware of abuse happening in the Diocese while he was Bishop.

Read more here.

Sarasota lawyer Joe Saunders has an interesting post about how an investigative journalist uncovered evidence of clergy sexual abuse in Orlando.

You can read the post here.

In case anyone is under the mistaken impression that sexual predators are a problem that is limited to the Catholic Church, Justice Stach of the Ontario Supreme Court recently released his decision convicting Anglican priest Ralph Rowe, who was charged with 56 counts of sexual abuse against more than 25 boys between 1975 and 1987.

Rowe was an Anglican priest, an organizer and leader of boy scout and choir groups, and a pilot in remote aboriginal communities in Northern Ontario. Rowe was convicted on charges of indecent assault and sexual assault including sexual fondling, digital penetration and anal rape.

The entire decision is reported at R. v. Rowe, [2007] O.J. No. 2971. You can read the decision here.

Father Bernard Cloutier is charged with two counts of sexual assault, indecent assault and gross indecency involving two boys between 1979 and 1983 while he was parish priest at St. Mathieu Church on Pioneer Road, and L'Annonciation Church on Northway Avenue in Sudbury.

Read more here .

A disgraced former Roman Catholic Bishop convicted of sexual abuse has died. Hubert O'Connor was convicted of sexually abusing children at the Cariboo Indian Residential School in British Columbia.

During his trial O'Connor's lawyers sought access to the victims' psychological records. The right of an accused to make an application for a court order to receive copies of a victim's therapeutic records was eventually upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada; a procedure that became known as an "O'Connor application".

In response to an outcry from women's groups and abuse survivors, the Government of Canada eventually passsed Bill C-46 amending the Criminal Code of Canada to protect the privacy rights of victims of abuse.

You can read about O'Connor here and here .

In the wake of the record breaking sexual abuse settlement by the R.C. Archdiocese of Los Angeles, many people are calling for the resignation of Cardinal Mahony.

See for example here, here, here , here ,and here.

When disgraced Archbishop Bernard Law resigned from the Diocese of Boston he was rewarded with a post presiding over the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. Not exactly a stinging reprimand.

It is true that Mahony shouldn't be allowed to remain in charge in Los Angeles; he has lost whatever credibility and moral authority he had. But as far as I am concerned, Mahony shouldn't resign: he should face acriminal investigation.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley issued a statement indicating that may be a possibility:.

"Today's massive civil settlement highlights the institutional moral failure of the archdiocese to supervise predatory priests who operated for years under its jurisdiction…"

But I am not holding my breath…

This weekend I read William Lobdell's moving, and very sad, article Test of Faith in the Los Angeles Times.

Lobdell, a committed Christian, chronicles his time as a reporter on the newspaper's religion beat. He describes in depressing detail how he investigated allegations of sexual abuse by church leaders of every faith. At first he appears to have been suspicious of victims who came forward with allegations of sexual abuse that were sometimes several decades in the past:

But then I began going over the documents. And interviewing the victims, scores of them. I discovered that the term "sexual abuse" is a euphemism. Most of these children were raped and sodomized by someone they and their family believed was Christ's representative on Earth. That's not something an 8-year-old's mind can process; it forever warps a person's sexuality and spirituality.

After spending years covering stories about sexual abuse, fraud, and deception by people of faith he finally realized…

My soul, for lack of a better term, had lost faith long ago — probably around the time I stopped going to church. My brain, which had been in denial, had finally caught up.

Clearly, I saw now that belief in God, no matter how grounded, requires at some point a leap of faith. Either you have the gift of faith or you don't. It's not a choice. It can't be willed into existence. And there's no faking it if you're honest about the state of your soul.

Many survivors of clergy sexual abuse that I have assisted have told me the biggest loss they suffered, the harm that cannot be healed, is the loss of their faith. I have nothing but admiration for the survivors that I have had the privilege to represent who not only had the strength to come forward to demand accountability from their abusers (and those in authority within the Church who allowed the abuse to continue) but who despite everything they have gone through, still maintain their faith in God, and in their Church.

There has yet to be any reported court decision in North America that has awarded compensation for "loss of faith". Perhaps it is about time…

In the wake of the $660 million settlement for sexual abuse by priests in the RC Archdiocese of Los Angeles I have seen dozens of articles and blogs asking the question of whether the Catholic vow of celibacy plays any part in what seems to be the disproportionate number of Catholic priests accused or convicted of sexual abuse.

I believe that the institutional structure of the Catholic Church provides an opportunity for pedophile priests to attract, groom, manipulate and abuse their victims (see also the Supreme Court of Canada's decision in Doe v. Bennett).

I had not considered that there was something about the Roman Catholic Church that might actually contribute to the creation of sexual abusers.

Until I read an article in the American Chronicle by Dr. Richard Cravatts. He suggests that: " the very process of accepting celibacy and entering the priesthood at an emotionally immature age level predispose priests to conflicting notions about human sexuality…"

Dr. Cravatts quotes Dr. Donna Markham, the president of Southdown Institute in Ontario, Canada. Southdown is a treatment center for Catholic priests with what are referred to as "boundary issues" a euphemism for sexual abusers. Some of the priest sexual abusers that I have sued received treatment (but unfortunately not a "cure") at Southdown.

"Many priests entered seminary before they reached mature psychosexual development," says Markham. "For some men, the institutional life in the same-sex environment may have served to further postpone social and sexual development. For these men, at the age of their ordination in their mid- to late twenties, they were intellectually and physically adults, but emotionally they remained far younger."

I recommend anyone the article to anyone interested in an objective discussion of clergy sexual abuse.

In the wake of the R.C. Archdiocese of Los Angeles' 660 million dollar abuse claim settlement the Vatican has issued a statement "reminding" the public that sexual abuse is not just a problem with the Catholic Church.

No kidding…

Pedophilia is a scourge that does not restrict itself to any particular religious faith. I have represented victims of clergy sexual abuse by Catholic's, Anglican's, and Baptist's, as well as person's in a position of authority that had nothing to do with religion.

That being said, the institutional heirarchy of the Roman Catholic Church, and it's demand for total obediance to Priest, Bishop, Pope, does appear to create the kind of "power relationship" that pedophiles use to manipulate their victims.

See for example the comments of the Supreme Court of Canada in the Doe vs. Bennett case.

The relationship between the bishop and a priest in a diocese is not only spiritual, but temporal.

First, the bishop provided Bennett with the opportunity to abuse his power.

Second, Bennett's wrongful acts were strongly related to the psychological intimacy inherent in his role as priest.

Third, the bishop conferred an enormous degree of power on Bennett relative to his victims.

Read the entire decision here.

Yesterday I posted about the CBC documentary The Good Father. I mentioned that I found it incredible that the Church knew about Sylvestre's abuse for decades and did nothing to stop him.

For many years, I have represented survivors of clergy sexual abuse in civil suits for compensation. While no amount of money can ever change what happened or repair the damage caused by sexual abuse, at least compensation is a recognition of the harm. But what can be done about those in authority that knew about the abuse and allowed it to continue?

I was reminded of an article by Dawn Russell, fomer Dean of Dalhousie Law School, entitled "Paedophilia: The criminal responsibility of Canada's churches".

Dean Russell argued, convincingly, that religious organizations that knowingly allow children to be sexually abused can (and should) be criminally charged in the same way that corporations can be subject to criminal sanctions.

I don't believe the article is online, but if you want to read it here's the cite: DALHOUSIE LAW JOURNAL. 15(1992):380-427

I just watched the CBC's documentary "The Good Father" about one of the worst pedophile priests in Canadian history, Charles Sylvestre.

The heartbreaking stories of Sylvestre's victims are similar to those I have heard from the many sexual abuse survivors that I have represented. Watching the documentary one finds it incredible that Sylvestre could openly sexually abuse hundreds of little girls, that the Church knew about the sexual abuse for four decades, and did NOTHING to protect the children in Sylvestre's parishes.

You can watch the documentary online here.

The unfortunate fact is that the Church's cover up of Sylvestre's abuse appears to be more the rule than the exception.

You can learn about Pope John XXIII's instructions to maintain a policy of "strictest secrecy" about sexual abuse by priests on the Clerical Whispers blog or you can read it yourself here:

If anyone had any doubt about the lengths to which the RC church will go to prevent disclosure of sexual abuse by priests, take a look at this story.

Talk about excessive! The Archdiocese of St. Louis has sued a law firm that represents victims of sexual abuse.

I guess the Diocese must think the best defence is a good offense. They are right…it is pretty offensive…

I found an interesting blog the other day about the "uncomfortable truth and news from the inside" of the RC Church in Ireland. The blog, titled "Clerical Whispers" is written, supposedly, by an RC priest who goes by the pen name Sotto Voce.

While the blog covers any news dealing with the RC Church, it also contains links and posts dealing specifically with the problem (crisis?) of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.

Take a look at http://clericalwhispers.blogspot.com

The Roman Catholic Diocese of London, Ontario has drafted a code of conduct with the goal of:

"…the prevention of sexual abuse, the protection of the vulnerable, the pastoral care of those wounded by misconduct, along with the protection of the rights of the accused and the appropriate action toward those who have committed sexual misconduct."

You can read the report, and learn how to submit your comments, here: www.rcec.london.on.ca/abuse/draft%20policy.htm
The policy requires that ALL complaints of sexual abuse against a minor MUST be reported to the Children's Aid Society. The draft goes on to state:

"Personal discretion is not to be exercised in fulfilling this reporting obligation."

While you have to support any effort to prevent the sexual abuse of children, it is sad that the drafters felt the need to remind members of the Diocese that reporting child abuse is NOT discretionary!
Rev. Charles Sylvestre, a former priest of the London Diocese, died in prison after pleading guilty to sexually abusing 47 girls over a number of decades.
One has to wonder how many priests (or other members of the Diocese) exercised "discretion" to not report Sylvestre?

A recent story on CNN.com caught my attention. CNN Headline News anchor Thomas Roberts described the abuse he suffered as a teenager at the hands of Father Jeff Toohey.

What struck me was Thomas's statement about his decision to publicly talk about the abuse he had suffered:

I was scared. I was scared of being so honest and televising this journey.

What would people think? Would I ruin my career? But I came to the conclusion that I will not be scared anymore. I will not be scared of telling the truth because it might be uncomfortable for people to hear.

If this story compels even one person to seek help for being sexually abused, then it is all worth it. All it takes is telling one person. From there, strength grows and you can tell a second person and so on. Then you can finally have control of your life back.

I commend Mr. Thomas for his courage. You can read the whole story here.

In my practice representing sexual abuse survivors I cannot count the number of times that a survivor has told me that their healing began the first time they disclosed to someone what had happened to them.

Child abusers prey on their victims' fears. Their fears of what family and friends will think of them; their fears that people will not believe them. Child abusers are able to destroy people's lives because of a wall of silence. The only thing that can break down that wall is for victims of sexual abuse to tell someone!

Here's a link to the Government of Canada's Directory of Services for Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse.

A Kentucky lawsuit filed in federal court in 2004 against the Vatican that alleges that the Vatican covered up known or suspected sexual abuse by American priests recently survived a legal challenge.

Legal counsel for the Vatican made an application to strike out the lawsuit on the grounds of sovereign immunity, which generally protects nations from being sued in the U.S.

In a decision released January 11, 2007 U.S. District Judge John Heyburn II dismissed the Plaintiff's allegations that the Vatican was negligent in failing to protect children entrusted to the care of Catholic priests.

However, the judge refused to dismiss allegations that the Vatican failed to report incidents of child abuse and failed to warn parishioners that their children would be under the care of known or suspected sexual abusers.

The Kentucky lawsuit is based in part on instructions the Vatican sent in 1962 to every Catholic Bishop in the world commanding them to maintain a policy of "strictest secrecy" when dealing with allegations of sexual abuse against a priest. The document, which was signed under the seal of Pope John XXIII, threatened to excommunicate anyone that violated the Church's code of secrecy.

Read it here: In May 2001 then Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) sent a letter to Bishops confirming that the 1962 code of secrecy remained in effect. If the Kentucky lawsuit proceeds, it could conceivably lead to the discovery deposition of Pope Benedict XVI , which could prove to be enlightening to say the least.

What has the Vatican been hiding for the last 45 years?