Did the Moncton Archdiocese Break the Law by not Reporting Priest Sexual Abuse?

by John McKiggan

Priests Suspended After Alleged Child Abuse

Last week the Archdiocese of Moncton announced that two of it’s priests Rev. Yvon Arsenault and Rev. Irois Despres had been removed: “from any ministry whatsoever following allegations of serious sexual abuse on minors on their part.”

Concern Over Failure to Report

After the suspensions were announced a colleague of mine and I expressed concern that the allegations of child abuse had not been reported to authorities: Church had duty to flag allegations: lawyers

Debate Over Legal Obligations

The Archdiocese and it’s lawyer deny any obligation to report the allegations to authorities.

So who is right? Is the Archdiocese required to advise the authorities of the “allegations of serious sexual abuse on minors”?

The Atlantic Canada Legal Examiner just published my article Has the Archdiocese of Moncton Broken the Law By Failing to Report Sexual Abuse?.

The article provides some history behind the story, examines the specific law that contains the obligation to report and discusses how the law relates to the Archdiocese.

Please take a look and let me know what you think.

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