A little more on the sentencing of Father Dan Miller today. I just scanned and posted Justice Timothy Ray’s Reasons for Sentencing:
28 November 2013: Reasons for Sentence (Ontario Superior Court of Justice: Between Her Majesty the Queen and Daniel Miller)
This is one of those things which I should have had scanned and up a while ago, but my darn scanner took on a mind of its own, First it flatly refused to scan. Then it co-operated to a minimal degree. Than I finally thought I had it, and off it went on on a tear – wouldn’t stop scanning – just chugging and grinding along, on and on and on, and nothing on the screen to scan! I finally unplugged it. That put a stop to the tear, but do you think I could find the pages that had been scanned before the machine went wild? No. Where they are I have no idea, but they aren’t where they should be. So, back to square one.
It worked like a charm 🙂
Please read, I will comment later
Enough for now,
Sylvia
One has to ask if,after serving his time, will he be allowed to say Mass privately and roam around Pembroke as is the case with Robert Borne.And, as has been the procedure in Pembroke,the bishop says nothing .
Perhaps it’s time for an investigation into the lack of actions by former bishops of Pembroke many of whom now enjoy high positions in the Canadian church.
“Ironically, while the Church provided support for the defendant, I heard no evidence of any support offered by the Church to support the victims or their families”
What a profound statement from the judiciary, Judge Ray got it right!!!
Not only no support, but as stated on this board many times, (but needs repeating until all the ostriches get the message), the Church, meaning the Bishops are all part of this systemic coverup!!, Miller would NEVER had been removed from duties, except for that brave mother who told the Bishop that she would shout it from the pulpits if he wasn’t removed, subsequently all of the gullible, myself included, thought ” ohhh poor Fr Miller, he is burnt out, he worked so hard, now he is sick”….. He went to Southdown for 6 months for treatment, all paid for through the Church, and yes, us the parishioners, what support was given to the victims!!! They were left in limbo, to,live with the voices in their heads, reliving the events of the abuse, harbour ing their secrets because to say anything, would only give them more grief, thank goodness their were several who came forward together…..,
Thank you Judge Ray….you really got it right!!!,
FP, your words:
“….subsequently all of the gullible, myself included, thought ” ohhh poor Fr Miller, he is burnt out, he worked so hard, now he is sick”….. He went to Southdown for 6 months for treatment, all paid for through the Church, and yes, us the parishioners, what support was given to the victims!!!”…
Former Parishoner, Bravo! to you. Wasn’t it easy to simply say at some point you “were blind and now you see”…That is all we are asking , I suppose, for the church to move ahead: admit you were wrong and then you can have some credibility!…(Hmmm! sounds like a line for some politicians…)
I had “no idea” at some point, almost ten years ago. Now I spend my days thinking and praying for the victims. Very little if any thoughts about the “new pharisees”…
The Judge deserves his title and showed compassion were there has been too little.
He too embraced the wounded…
jg
JG, it was about 3 years ago when Borne was charged that the lightbulb went off for me, and with Miller I realized there had been red flags that I ignored, such as in 1990 -91 when our son was training to serve on the altar, he (Miller) insisted that I be in the sacristy with our son when he was robing and disrobing, it was during the week, Miller told me that the Bishop didn’t want priests to be alone with the altar servers, a relative with sons on the altar in Renfrew, at the same time, has since verified for me that that was not the case in her parish, I have drawn the unfortunate conclusion, that The superiors above in Pembroke were aware of his behaviors!!! Believe me, he had us all hoodwinked, and there are those in Arnprior who still have not come to terms that their precious fr Miller is a criminal… Am hoping that this jail sentence gives them a real dose of reality….many think we should just pray for him and forgive him, absolutely no empathy or understanding for the victims, just because their kids weren’t some of the vulnerable, they wish it away, not too much Catholic or Christian about their thinking!!!!
I was an altar boy for a “very short time”…couple of weeks maybe. I didn’t like the “atmosphere” so I just didn’t go back. Not saying there was anything of the nature discussed on this site…just not comfortable. Same with cub scouts; I went once and never returned. Maybe I was already willing to listen to my “gut” feelings at that age. I had to look after myself from a very early age, very independent. I was always very “lucky” or looked after by Other than my parents or family…
Your son was lucky to have you. Too many were entrusted to the wolves because of their “naive” faith. We should all be “mother” and “father” first, then maybe “followers” with a lot of questions!…and with the lights turned on!, for those who need to follow…
I am always very surprised about all the cases which have surfaced in the Renfrew, Pembroke, Arnprior area, probably because of my time at Madonna House. My memories and what I have heard of that area just don’t fit the memories of the teenager.
Maybe I wasn’t there long enough.
jg
I totally agree. Why are these priests not defrocked ? Is fr borne still allowed to say mass. I think we need an update on what happens after the charges in regard to defrocking. Is Bernard prince defrocked ?? More transparency for sure. And the bishop in 1999 who the mother reported to should be up on charges !!!!! Disgusting
I’m not a Canadian citizen, but I’m very pleased with this Judge for his ruling! The sentence includes jail time, and that is where this defendant belongs. Sad that so many parishioners wrote testimonies in defense of the priest, but no parishioners spoke up on behalf of the victims. The Judge referred to the betrayal of trust, not only the trust of the young children, but also the trust of the people in the church. I hope the Bishop moves to have Miller defrocked. Even if the Church doesn’t defrock Miller, at least the Court of Law got it right!