Ottawa Sun

23 March 2010

By TERRI SAUNDERS, Ottawa Sun

.Local Catholic school boards aren’t complying with a directive to remove from an elementary text book a letter penned by a bishop charged with possession of child pornography.

The letter, written by Bishop Raymond Lahey, who has since retired, introduces students to Catholic teachings contained in a series of books called Believe in Me, part of the We Are Strong Together teaching collection. The books are aimed at children in Grades 7, 8 and 9 and were originally published in 1995 when Lahey was the bishop of St. George’s Newfoundland.

The books were published by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) and placed in elementary schools across Canada, including those in Ottawa and eastern Ontario.

On Monday, officials from both the Ottawa Catholic School Board and the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario said they would not be following the CCCB directive and schools run by the boards weren’t removing Lahey’s letter from the texts. Officials said that could happen in the future, but refused to say when or under what circumstances.

Lahey was charged in September with possession of child pornography and importation of child pornography. Ottawa police said they found images of child pornography on a laptop seized from Lahey at the Ottawa International Airport Sept. 15. Lahey had returned to Canada on a flight from Europe and was passing through Canada Customs when border guards asked to examine the computer.

The 69-year-old bishop was later released on bail and is currently living in Ottawa. His trial is expected to begin in April 2011.

The letter contained in the textbooks — which has since been pasted over in books in some Ontario school boards, including Windsor’s — speaks to the importance of believing in God and in oneself.

“We also say to God, ‘Believe in me. I’m trying to be a good person. I want to do the right thing,’” Lahey wrote. “‘I want to understand myself and others better. I want to make a better world for all of us.’”

Lahey’s arrest came just weeks after he announced the Diocese of Antigonish in Nova Scotia had reached a $15-million settlement with alleged victims of child sexual abuse at the hands of priests. A lawsuit alleged children were sexually assaulted by five priests between 1960 and 2008. Several were convicted of multiple counts of sexual abuse.

terri.saunders@sunmedia.ca