Another battle lost for priest

Cornwall Standard Freeholder
Terri Saunders

Thursday, December 14, 2006 - 10:00

Local News - A lawyer for a city priest lost yet another battle to keep allegations of abuse made against his client at the Cornwall Public Inquiry out of the press.

Giuseppe Cipriano has filed motions with the inquiry on a number of occasions in the 10 months since the inquiry began to either protect the identity of Rev. Charles MacDonald or protect the details of allegations of abuse leveled at his client by witnesses at the inquiry.

Cipriano said Wednesday allowing the details of the alleged abuse to be published would cause his client irreparable harm.

"This inquiry is not about looking at the truth of allegations," Cipriano said. "The work of the inquiry can still be done (without publishing the details.)"

Comm. Normand Glaude disagreed and denied the motion even before Cipriano had returned from the lectern to his seat.

Glaude said the details of the allegations may be important to know, not for the truth of their contents but in order to fully examine the response of public institutions to the allegations.

MacDonald was charged in 1996 by the Ontario Provincial Police's Project Truth team with a series of sex-related crimes involving a number of young boys. In 2002, the charges were stayed when a judge determined it had taken too long to bring the matter to trial.

From the time the priest was first charged through the media coverage of the inquiry, the allegations against MacDonald have often been in the public realm.

number of occasions

On a number of occasions at the inquiry, lawyers for various parties have suggested the commission cannot now prevent the publication of such information, a move some have said would be akin to unscrambling an egg.

Cipriano said when a person is presumed innocent it is within that person's right to attempt to place a Band-aid over the egg to prevent further scrambling.

Glaude disagreed with that theory, suggesting the placement of a Band-aid would only allow wounds to fester.

"In the long run, it may be that the light of day will help heal all wounds," said Glaude, "including those of Father MacDonald."

Glaude did agree to an interim ban on the details of the allegations until 9:30 a.m. this morning when it's expected Cipriano will advise the commission whether his client will seek a judicial review of the ruling.