Father Leon Gagnon
J Leon Gagnon
Ordained 17 June 1928, probably for the Diocese of Chatham, New Brunswick which would later be renamed Diocese of Bathurst. It is known that for most if not all of his priesthood he served in the Diocese of Chatham/Bathurst. In 2004, 90-year-old Elie Theriault confided to his family that, in 1931 at the age of 16, he had been molested by Gagnon.
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It is difficult to list the names of bishops from the time of Gagnon’s ordination in what is now the Bathurst diocese. The communities in which Father Gagnon served have been subjected to boundary
Wedding picture of JG's parents. JG's father was 89 years old when he first confided that he had been sexually abused as a boy by his parish priest, Father Leon Gagnon. JG has fought long and hard to expose the truth and to seek an apology from "the Church" on behalf of his now deceased father and for his many siblings- JG's blogs in that regard can be found under "Responses" at the foot of this page
changes several times, hence a boundary change could mean a change in diocese for a specific church. For example, the Diocese of Bathurst was once the Diocese of Chatham. Here is the history of the diocese: In 1860 portions of the Diocese of Saint John New Brunswick went to the newly erected Diocese of Chatham, New Brunwick. In 1936 portions of the Dioceses of St. John and Chatham went to the erection of the Archdiocese of Moncton. In 1938 the Diocese of Chatham was renamed the Diocese of Bathurst. In 1944 portions of the Diocese of Bathurst went to the newly erected Diocese of Edmunston, New Brunswick.
Gagnon was definitely answerable to Bishop Chaisson (Bishop of Chatham New Brunswick – renamed Bathurst in 1938). And Gagnon was definitely a priest with the Diocese of Bathurst from 1931 until his death in 1982. It would seem therefore that Father Leon Gagnon was probably ordained as priest for the Diocese of Chatham (renamed Bathurst) and remained a priest with the Diocese of Bathurst until his death in 1982.
Bishops of Bathurst Diocese from 1931 to 1985: Patrice Alexandre Chiasson, C.I.M. (09 September 1920 - 31 January 1942); Camille-André Le Blanc (25 Jul 1942 – 08 January 1969 ); Edgar Godin (09 June 1969 - 06 April 1985).
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15 January 2012: JG’s parent’s wedding picture
09 December 2010: Word document of Michel Bastarache letter to Jean Guy Theriault (the original French pdf file will be added later)
05 June 2010: Jean Guy Theriault letter to Michel Bastarache (French. Word document – can be translated)
05 June 2010: Jean Guy to Michel Bastarache (pdf)
Headstone on grave behind St. Andre Roman Catholic Church, Saint Andre, New Brunswick
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Unless otherwise indicated the following information is drawn from Canadian Catholic Church Directories (CCCD) of the same date which I have on hand, and the Letter to the Editor of Jean Guy Theriault and also information received from Jean-Guy (JGT)
1982: died (picture). Buried in cemetery behind St. Andre RC Church, St. Andre, New Brunswick ( this is in the vicinity of Grand Falls, New Brunswick)
1973-74: Pastor, Canadian Martyrs, Port Landry, New Brunswick( Bishop Edgar Godin) (CCCD)
1971-72: Pastor, St. Francis Xavier, Charlo, New Brunswick (Bishop Godin) (CCCD) (according to S. Mealey Gagnon was replaced by Father Chiasson in 1970)
1970: Retired in Balmoral, New Brunswick (JCD) (despite reports of retirment Gagnon was listed in both the 1971-72 and 1973-74 CCCDs. Barring errors in the CCCDs it would seem he was serving for at least a short time after 1970.)
1968-69: Pastor, St. Francis Xavier, Charlo, New Brunswick (Bishop Camille André Leblanc) (CCCD)
officiated at a wedding at St. Francis Xavier in Charlo, August 1969 (http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/m/c/i/Kristine-A-McIntyre/GENE2-0047.html)
1966-70: Charlo, New Brunswick (JCD)
“In late 1960, early 1970, a young man, 30 years old, working on a construction site near the presbytery of the Village of Charlo, N.B. , becomes intrigued by the constant flow of young children in and out of the priest’s residence and ask one of his co-workers what that is all about..??..”…the priest is a homosexual, he pays the poor kids for sexual favours, $10.00 at a time…”. The young man is so outraged that he informs some of the elders in the community and a decision is made to meet on a particular day and to travel to Bathurst to inform the Bishop. On the day in question, A. McI. and his wife are the only ones who show up. Nonetheless, they proceed to visit the then Bishop Godin, who argues about proof, about the seriousness of the accusations, about the good character of Leon Gagnon” (JGT) Gagnon is moved to Balmoral.
1967: pastor at St.Theresa RC Church in the Gloucester region (Robertville?) (Bishop Camille André Leblanc) (CCCD)
1963-66: Robertville, New Brunswick (JGT)
1963-65: Robertville, New Brunswick (http://www.theinquiry.ca/wordpress/charged/gagnon-father-leon-gagnon/comment-page-1/#comment-115280) (Reginald tells us that he was sexually abused by Gagnon in Robertville from 1963-65)
1953-63: St. Benoit RC Church, Balmoral, New Brunswick (JGT)
1959: Pastor, St. Benoit RC Church, Balmoral, New Brunswick (Index of priests gives address of Allardville, but the diocesan section of the CCCD lists him as pastor at St. Benoit) (Bishop Camille André Leblanc) (CCCD)
1944-1953: Allardville, New Brunswick (JGT)
1941: new parish of Beresford, New Brunswick (JGT)
1940-41: Drummond, New Brunswick (JGT)
1936 – 1940: Lameque, New Brunswick (JGT)
Gagnon was re-assigned to this church by Bishop Patrice Alexandre Chiasson. Chiasson was then Bishop of Chatham, hence the villages at the time fell within the boundaries of the Diocese of Chatham. In 1938 the Diocese of Chatham, New Brunswick was re-named the Diocese of Bathurst. There were no boundary changes involved in the renaming of the Diocese.
1931-35: Arsenault Siding (now St. Martin de Restigouche) (JGT)
- In 2004, 90-year-old Elie Theriault confided to his family that, in 1931 at the age of 16, he had been molested by Gagnon.
- “1935, three men, three Fathers of young boys, boarded a slow train in a small town in northern New Brunswick and traveled to Bishop Chiasson’s residence in Bathurst. They arrived late and were unceremoniously scolded and sent back on their way after reporting that Leon Gagnon, their priest since 1931, had been abusing several boys, their sons. The Bishop’s reply was to tell them that if they didn’t want this priest, they wouldn’t have any!!… The Parish of Saint-Martin de Restigouche did not again have a resident priest until 1948 ” (JGT)
“when he [Gagnon] was told of his removal from the said Parish in 1935, he directed the caretaker to ¨burn it all down!¨…The barn with three heads of cattle was burnt to the ground and another fire which had been started in the presbytery was discovered and put out by a neighbour…” (JGT)
- the village of Arsenault Siding underwent several name changes. Before 1931 it was known as Arsenault Siding. In 1931, around the time of the arrival of Leon Gagnon, it was renamed Saint Arthur. The new name created confusion because of the existence of another similarly named community. In 1936, the same year that Gagnon was relocated to Lameque, the village name was changed to Lauvriere, Then, in 1948 the village was re-named yet again and became Saint Martin Restigouche. The new priest, Thomas Beaulieu, was the first resident priest in the church since the Gagnon. (I have been told that Beaulieu was assigned by the Bishop of Edmunston, Marie-Antoine Roy. It seems then that, with the erection of the Edmunston Diocese in 1944, the village – at one time within the boundaries of the Diocese of Bathurst – was as of then within the boundaries of the new Diocese of Edmunston)
1931: Arsenault Siding/St-Martin de Restigouche (JGT)
- allegations of sex abuse by Elie Theriault (JGT)
1928-1931: Petit Rocher, N.B. (JGT)
17 June 1928: ORDAINED, Grand Sault, New Brunswick (JGT)
seminary at Holy Heart of Mary in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
studied at a college in Bathurst and University of St. Joseph College in Memramcook, New Brunswick
22 November 1900: born in St. Andre de Madawaska
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Letter to the Editor of the Campbellton Tribune
from Jean Guy Theriault (the letter was published in its entirety)
11 December 2010
Letter to the editor:
In last weeks Tribune, dated 10 Dec 2010, a Mr. Bob Jensen is quite upset at the way the Catholic Church or the Bathurst Diocese is handling the abuse cases of children. Mr. Jensen I have some bad news for you; the Church is not interested in justice and certainly not in their moral responsibility which I now understand to have slipped from their collective conscience centuries ago.The Church is only interested in maintaining its control over the ¨flock¨.
I am just coming out of an eight(8) month ¨dialect¨with the Diocese over the abuse of my now deceased father. Elie THERIAULT, my father, was able to talk about the abuse which victimized him and our entire family from the time he was 16 years young. At 90 years old, in 2004, he told me for the first time that Father Leon Gagnon and another unnamed priest from Beresford had abused him. I am sparing you and my family the details! I can tell you that it happened at or about the end of July 1931 for the first time in the new parish of ¨St-Martin de Restigouche¨ My father witnessed that same priest’s physical abuse of a 6 year old orphan and he had good reasons to fear he was also sexually abused by Gagnon. There are stories of many others being abused by the same predator.
I could go on but I will simply say that the abuser, after he impregnated a young servant was simply transferred to a new parish, in Lamèque or on the island of Miscou. Later in the 1960′s the same priest was in Balmoral. The pattern has not changed over time because it worked so well!
Mr. Jensen, when Judge Bastarache’s assistant called me on the 02 dec past, he seemed genuinely happy to hear of my father’s passing! Yesterday I got an Email from Judge Bastarache telling me in a few words that the church’s legal responsibility ends with his passing.The church use to rely on divine right when dealing with the vulnerable or less educated … now they are seeking their own legal rights!
So my message I suppose is that the church will prolong and delay as long as possible and pray that the victims die off soon enough, as was evident in previous comments that came out of Brother André’s congregation when some of them were accused of abusing children.
The only way the Church will understand the scope of the damages their misguided lack of moral leadership has spawned will be at the ¨cash register¨, just like all the other businesses. With Christmas just next week, the Celebration of the Holy Birth of the ¨Messenger¨ I would encourage that all Catholics strongly think of staying away from church services that day or just bring a photo of their children to express their Love and Support for all the children who have ever gone through that physical and mental torture.They are the true victims in the image of the ¨Messenger ¨, not the Catholic Church.
My Father passed away on the 9th of July 2010. He wasn’t perfect but now I understand the damage. He did the best he could and deserves my respect, forever.
Mr. Jensen, I hope this will be helpful. I will not be in a Church on Christmas Day. I’ll pray and hope, reflect and cry with my children, that this never happens to another of the ¨small ones amongst us¨.
Atholville
Par la présente, je peux confirmer que le père Léon Gagnon s’intéressait aux petits enfants. J’ai moi-même été abusé par ce dernier de 1963 a 1965 à Robertville au N.B. Plusieurs comme nous ont été abusés par lui. Il était prête a Petit-Rocher et a Belmoral et a Charlo ainsi qu’à Robert paroise ede St Thèrese.
Thank you Reginald. I am sorry to hear that you are a victim of Gagnon. I thank you for sharing that information with us. I will add the information to the page.
One molested child should have been too many for anyone to bear! It would have been one little angel too many for anyone with any amount of faith to be able to endure. Here we are, all of us with our Laws, our beliefs, or lack thereof , writing and discussing what should have been a non issue from the beginning. Our children are our future and once we stop believing that, we are failing as human beings and are only reverting to our animal ancestry. Somewhere along the way we decided to chose some special souls among us to guide us through the Book of Life. They have failed, that is all, no matter how we look at it or refuse to face that fact. They failed and continue to fail with each lie,each and every denial…
On a warm summer day in 1935, three men, three Fathers of young boys, boarded a slow train in a small town in northern New Brunswick and traveled to Bishop Chiasson’s residence in Bathurst. They arrived late and were unceremoniously scolded and sent back on their way after reporting that Leon Gagnon, their priest since 1931, had been abusing several boys, their sons, and that they expected the Bishop to take action. The Bishop’s reply was to tell them that if they didn’t want this priest, they wouldn’t have any!!… The Parish of Saint-Martin de Restigouche did not again have a resident priest until 1948…after the years of the Great Depression, during the second world war and beyond! At a time when the only salvation possible in the minds of these God fearing farmers was through the front door of the Catholic Church! Where was the Christianity, the generosity, the Love of Christ of these appointed leaders of the Catholic Church? Thirty, forty years later these three Fathers still felt the pain, the anger, the despair of a great treason, for having tried to repair a broken covenant.
In late 1960, early 1970, a young man, 30 years old, working on a construction site near the presbytery of the Village of Charlo, N.B. , becomes intrigued by the constant flow of young children in and out of the priest’s residence and ask one of his co-workers what that is all about..??..”…the priest is a homosexual, he pays the poor kids for sexual favours, $10.00 at a time…”. The young man is so outraged that he informs some of the elders in the community and a decision is made to meet on a particular day and to travel to Bathurst to inform the Bishop. On the day in question, A. McI. and his wife are the only ones who show up. Nonetheless, they proceed to visit the then Bishop Godin, who argues about proof, about the seriousness of the accusations, about the good character of Leon Gagnon…The same priest who has been molesting children since 1931(my Father and others?!…) is once again being moved to a new parish in Balmoral, N.B.
This predator passed away in 1982 after causing untold harm to many victims and their families, mine included. When we look at one victim of a priest we should easily multiply the effects of that abuse many times over.
For the hierarchy of the Church, right up to the Pope, to continue asserting total lack of knowledge should be an insult to the intelligence of any well grounded human being, let alone good , Loving and Caring beings with beliefs beyond our struggling daily lives.
In 2010, as far as I am aware, I was the third person to bring to the attention of the Diocese of Bathurst , this time to Valery Vienneau, the abuses of this person, Leon Gagnon. My letter to the Tribune Journal tells another part to this story, the beginning in Sylvia’s blog. Since then their so-called conciliation effort has only been a delaying tactic to prevent any payments or redress. In my father’s case, the office of Judge Bastarache has worked hard to expend the 6 month between 09 July 2010 and 09 January 2011, the 6 months during which the estate could take action. Thanks to Rob Talach of Ledroit-Beckett an action was begun “in-extremis” on the 07January 2011 following a series of coincidences. As far as I was concerned it was all over although I deplored not even getting an apology for my Father. I had to see the true vindictive colours of the church representatives by myself before I could or would believe it. They do not turn the other cheek…or subscribe to any of the Christian lessons we were taught growing up…
They should have to face the Law…party to an offence, aiding and abetting! If you buy a stolen product for less than a fair price, you are deemed to have had the knowlege, or ought to have known or suspected it was from the result of a crime. You would be accused of buying stolen goods and would probably be charged. After thousands upon thousands of sex crimes around the world perpetrated by Catholic Clergy, for the hierarchy to claim innocence is the greatest insult , the greatest treason.
Any person with minimal cerebral capacity,will understand, in the words of another blogger:”If it walks like a duck…”
NO MORE! We are winning if you only remember these two words.
I invite Mr.McI. and my new friend G.G. to share their piece of this bitter puzzle; it could help others.
Jean Guy, if the Chief Shepherds of each and every diocese where clerical sexual abuse of children took place had performed the episcopal role they were ordained to do instead of being guilty of aiding and abetting , this whole sorry mess would have ended pretty quickly. The abusers are bad enough, but the hierarchy who covered up, in my view, are just as guilty and allowed the evil to flourish. When I see some of the aiding and abetting members of the hierarchy brought to justice , only then will I be able to consider returning to practicing my religion even though I have the highest regard for faithful priests who had no knowledge of this abuse.
Newf dog,
It was probably more convenient for a lot of the good priests and church leaders to look the other way or stick their heads in the proverbial sand. They were all mere humans expecting and demanding treatment of a privileged class. They were educated and preyed on the less fortunate. In the last few years of his life my father kept insisting that ¨it is all lies!..¨
They had taken away his hope, all of his life. I am angry but I am not hopeless and I don’t foresee the day when I, as well, will need to set foot in a church of any kind to feel complete.
I guess we agree, it should have ended a long time ago because it should never have been allowed to occur. As a ¨Newfoundland Dog¨would confirm, there is usually a strong hand of the master at the end of the leash!!…The Vatican wants us to believe it is the invisible man…
In response to your first post Jean-Guy…
No less than three bishops who chose to villify the messengers rather than reign in the molester.
And how many people knew? How many knew that Gagnon was seducing the boys with $10 bills? That was a lot of money in the 60s. A lot of money.
But, how many watched those young lads troop in and out and did nothing?
I must say hats off to the one gentleman and his wife who decided that they would try to bring it to an end and went to tell the bishop.
And the bishop wanted proof! and talked of Gagnon’s good character!! and recycled him to another parish where Gagnon had ready access to a new pool of trusting parents and unsuspecting victims.
It’s hard to take. It just doesn’t get easier.
But, thank you Jean-Guy for sharing that information with us. I am sure it was not easy to do, but it helps us all to understand the profound and long-term ripple effects of clerical sexual abuse.
It’s amazing. Just think about it. Your father, God rest his poor soul, was moleseted by Gagnon in the early 30s. Here your are, 80 years later, feeling and living the agony of what was done to your father and those other vulnerable young boys. Here you are searching for answers. 80 years later.
And it took your father how long to share his terrible and ‘shameful’ secret? 70 years?
Seventy years he carried that burden. And without doubt for 70 years it tormented him, until finally he trusted enough, and he spoke. And now, you speak for him, and you speak for the other Gagnon victims .
It’s quite amazing. I am deeply moved by this.
I think your father would be very proud of you Jean-Guy. I think he would be proud and thankful that you are doing for him and others what he himself, for whatever reason, was unable to do.
May God have mercy on his soul. May he rest in peace.
I wonder if we can only get outraged enough that our collective voices may speak to the Church on behalf of those who had no voice and are still very often mistreated, discarded, abandoned like any other commodity…You are right Sylvia, three times they were informed, three different bishops, three times ignored , three times covered up…
In the case of this monster, Gagnon (I don’t care to call in him Father because it never applied-for G.-)when he was told of his removal from the said Parish in 1935, he directed the caretaker to ¨burn it all down!¨…The barn with three heads of cattle was burnt to the ground and another fire which had been started in the presbytery was discovered and put out by a neighbour…
Another victim who has still not found the courage to come forward with his story, told me how a young orphan in the care of Gagnon was violently whipped by him with the leather straps of a horse harness. Mr. L. told me he has no idea why the 14 yr old would have deserved such a beating. He said this young boy, his friend, was a martyr at the hands of Gagnon.
It is 40,50,80 years after the facts and I find it horrifying to think it could all have been prevented.The church looked the other way! Imagine the details we will never hear about…No amount of tears will ever cleanse this world wide organized systemic abuse of power. There has to be somewhere an authority which will bring them to justice, as is done with war criminals, in cases of genocide, mass murderers, rogue heads of states…This isn’t any different! Organized crime at best is how I can view it now, without the colored glasses they had provided in the life long indoctrination…
I still see some beautiful colors, but I’ve discarded their props!…
NO MORE!
…..and when historical and current cases of clergy sexual abuse, (or cases of sexual abuse alllegedly perpetrated by prominent citizens), are confronted and referenced in public inquiries such as “The Cornwall Public Inquiry”-up to 2010, the findings conclude that in “earlier years”, people of “authority” and people in “prominent positions”, did not know how to manage such allegations. In part, “the findings” conclude, that “people in authority” did not know how to intervene, they did not have the education, technology, training, records keeping capabilities….etc. REALLY!
Nothing changes IF nothing changes. (smoke and mirrors versus reality).
I find the above posts to be very courageous ones.
I generally refere to them as “Father” Jean-Guy because it’s a reminder to me and I hope others that these men used their collars and presented a facade as men of God to gain trust and seduce the young and vulnerable . No, they do not warrant the tiltle, but they used and abused it for their own perverted ends. It was because Leon Gagnon was Father Leon Gagnon that he had opportunity to gain access to your father and countless other young lads. And it was because he was Father Leon Gagnon that one bishop after the other saw fit to turn a blind eye because, after, Father Gagnon was a priest and how dare anyone even imply that a priest would do such horrific things to a child.
I went through a spell where I refused to refer to these predators as Father, but, no longer. Not only did these men use their collars to destroy the lives and faith of their victims, they also sullied the sanctity of priesthood, betrayed and deceived and lied to the faithful , brought shame and disrepute upon the Church, and thumbed their collective noses at God. God help us, but, they were and are priests. They may overlook the fact in court, but I for one will ensure that I never ever forget that they are wolves in sheep’s clothing – sexual predators masquerading as men of God.
It’s really an oxymoron is it not? Father Leon Gagnon – child molester. So that’s where I’m at, and that’s why I tend to refer to the Leon Gagnons of the Church as “Father.”
And prima facie, how true. I got so fed up at the $60M Cornwall Public Inquiry hearing the same old rationalizing refrain: ‘we/they didn’t know’ and ‘we/they didn’t understand.’ How do you know it’s wrong? How do I know? How does Jean-Guy know? How did Perry Dunlop know? It’s just not rocket science.
Sorry Sylvia!…that doesn’t and never will do it for me…If a man stole my car, I certainly would not give him the key to my house just to keep track of him. The use of Father should be reserved to signify respect, giver of life, someone to look up to…The Church took from society titles, descriptions to elevate themselves on a pedestal. Gagnon took my Father away before I was born. I had very little occasion to call my own, Father, while he was alive as we were not that close. A simple X should be placed in front of the names of those abusers, i.e. XGagnon, XKneale, etc. if we want to be reminded.Personally, I want to give them less voice , no recognition, no title of any kind. Not even Mr.. Back to the dark pit they came from.
We would all be offended if William Russell was still referred to as Colonel Russell.
We would look at the army with little respect, we would consider them criminals as he is. Their titles, medals and uniforms would no longer be looked at as representing our collectivity .We would understandably distance ourselves from that group.
It is an insult to real Fathers, to continue feeding that confusion, even if just in name. Criminal, pedophile, monster and whatever distances them from deserving human beings . You can’t be half pregnant!! The tear is so profound that I understand some Catholics don’t want to lose a life long identity and association with the Church. A sort of Patty Hearst syndrome…They took our lives but in our need to survive, we find love and still some closeness with our ¨kidnappers¨.
I am accusing , condemning and distancing myself from those perpetrators of great crimes against the Children of God, all of us who have heard the Message. I am reclaiming my and my family’s life, my Father’s title and the respect that is attached to it. The Church has chosen the wrong side; the titles, the uniforms , the moral authority, that is all in the past in my mind. I think it is ¨the little ones¨who now have to speak up and shed some light on this dark Church…I think the time for preaching is over and the time for choosing is with us. Don’t be afraid to speak your mind, to spell your own name…Bloggers with pseudos are only half committed, still resonating with the same fear described above by whoever “prima facie” is… Nothing will change if we follow their rules, claim our faith but continue to feed the fear the Church, the people in positions of power have bred into our fabric. The fences, the titles, the flags, the division they used to control seem to be loosing their grip. I believe that reclaiming the simple title of Father is a good beginning to reclaim our lives and our spiritual strength.
Where and how to use Father?…
“Our Father who art in Heaven…
“Father, Son, Spirit…
” …my Father was a short man but his Spirit stands tall…”
Gagnon and others should only be X’d out…They appropriated a title to confuse, dominate, glorify themselves! Time to reclaim it …
Jean-Guy
“prima facie”: James Porter Bateman, born: Thetford Mines, Quebec, Canada.
Don’t be so presumptuous, you self-righteous “puke”.
You have no idea who I am or how many times I have disclosed my name or what my related history is or why my entry is “prima facie”—how long have you been coming to this site? Keep coming back “hero of the moment”!
James,
I did not mean to offend and I apologize, as I obviously did .Obvious we all have deep wounds and I probably should not be so challenging.
Over and out.
Be good to one another.
Sorry again.
Jean-Guy
I’ve said it before and I say it again. Passions run high on this site.
Jean-Guy, James, is absolutely right. He has been blogging here for years. Everyone who follows the site knows exactly who he is. He never tried to hide the fact that he is James Bateman.
James has worked with victims. He knows the sorry saga of child sexual abuse and cover-up at many levels. He has worked tirelessly to right wrongs. He operated the first Project Truth website. For his efforts, James was sued by Bishop Eugene Larocque (former Bishop of the Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall) and Fathers Bernard Cameron, Rejean Lebrun, Ranald Roderick MacDonald, Kevin Joseph Maloney, Donald Bernard McDougald and Gary Ostler (priests in the Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall) James knows better than most of the the consequences of speaking up and speaking out. (http://www.theinquiry.ca/The_Lawsuit.hide.php)
Look up the meaning of “prima facia.” James chose the name for a reason.
As for the title “Father.” No, Jean Guy, I do not use it because I don’t want to lose a life long identity and association with the Church. Nor do I suffer from the Patty Hearst syndrome. I use it because, as far as I’m concerned, it is an oxymoron to use the title “Father” and “sexual predator” in the same breath.. For me it is a reminder that Church officials have not done what they must: defrock these men. I agree whole-heartedly that they do not warrant the title, but until such time as Church officials do what must and should be done we are left with the oxymoron, i.e., convicted clerical molester Father Michael J Walsh.
Mugabe was president of Egypt until he was deposed. Michael Walsh is Father Michael Walsh until he is defrocked.
As I get this ready to post your apology came in Jean-Guy. Hats off to you for that. It is true, there are deep wounds. And we do need to take care when blogging – there is often a coolness which comes with the written word which can misrepresent our intent.
Let’s carry on and fight the real enemies, whomever and wherever they may be.
Who am I to accept or refuse apologies? Who am I to even expect apologies or whatever? I accept you Jean-Guy for who you respresent yourself to be…..the challenging spirit included! Under this circumstance, I appreciate your tone and encourage you to “challenge” anyone whenever you “want” to……. and be prepared to rebut openly and honestly to replies. Anyone who has known me for the past fifty years know’s very well, I have spent a lifetime that has included challenging and being challenged….some with positive consequences and some with negative outcomes. BE PREPARED.
I do not want an apology,…. that would imply someone has done something deviant (my perception) against me. I certainly do not believe Jena-Guy or anyone else did anything to me, deserving of an apology.
However, Jean-Guy, I appreciate your “reaching out” (my term), not because I believe I was offended or think “the world” must know who I am, or think I deserve an “apology”…..no-no, I don’t want an apology. What I wish for is people like Jean-Guy and others to “challenge”….seek answers, reveal the false prophets, protect yourselves…..and be prepared for any response.
For various reasons that are based on my personal experiences, I have decided (past two years) to take a very different approach/style, with lawyers, justice, victims, etc., and the method of operation I utilize when interacting with them all.
This may push some away……but I have taken this into consideration.
Regards, to you Jean-Guy, thanks and onward.
Jean-Guy and prima facia, you each have much to contribute to this site. Your are both passionate and vocal. Don’t stop
Yes, please don’t stop!
I have a pretty good life considering that I have been doing battle for over 40 years. I had my first battle with some Church reps when I was 17. Easter Friday in 2002 or 2003 the local priest threw me out of the presbytery because I had reason to consider him a church civil servant at best and certainly not a representative of any christian faith and I told him so. A month later he was gone, a year later he had passed away…
At different times in my life I have stood up for people who never even knew about it (and still don’t know)and I have made career decisions that have cost me in the 6 digits many times because I could not and would not agree to follow directives that were unfair, sometimes illegal, sometimes just plain selfish or contrary to my principles. Of course my family, my wife , my children have paid along with me. So I have been asking myself if maybe I shouldn’t just stop playing Hero , return to my reclusive life, mind my business. There isn’t much more I can say except rant some more and insult good people I don’t even know…even if it is never intended. I have two brothers; one hasn’t spoken to me in 20 years because he believes I tried to do him harm when the opposite was intended. The other sometimes tells me(or reports to someone else in the family!..) that I am a SOB…Then he realizes I was right and we go on peacefully into the next break-up! …days, weeks later sometimes. We are both fathers and grandfathers and we still act like teenagers when it comes to being right or wrong. I told him once before, last year I believe, that he was right. It took me a short while to realize I had been mistaken, for the first time. (There should be a good laugh right here!!…)…I am not always serious! …
I have spent a great deal of time meditating on my fate as a ¨challenging blogger¨ and what the whole point was. I told my story, or my father’s, as much as I wish to tell and there isn’t much else to discuss for me .My Father is dead and so is the aggressor.
Then, ”Lowell” sent me an E-Mail today and I heard about “Reginald”. I think I may be getting p’d off again!!
I can only hope and think that pressure can be brought upon our Justice system to actively pursue the higher-ups in the church. I don’t understand that no one by this time in any or all Police Forces across the country has not thought of the possibility of a task force that could conduct simultaneous searches, execute warrants in Dioceses where abuses have been reported over the years. It has been reported repeatedly how the aggressors were moved around and allowed to continue. This was not a one time occurrence but a ”modus operandi¨spread out over many years, many provinces and even countries. If this is corroborating evidence in drug cases, why not in child abuse cases??? I correct myself! It is being done with great exposure when it concerns a small sect in British Columbia or elsewhere. The catholic church has too many friends in high places, too powerful , too well connected. Of course probably a dilemma for a catholic policeman or prosecutor to mess with his own church and suicidal for someone of another faith to attempt to “render unto Caesar” what is deserved under our Justice system… I think our legal eagles have a case of “Willful Blindness”(CTV news, author?, this AM) and we will only get anywhere on this chapter when someone takes the overall picture into account and finally realizes “mens rea” had been and remains so clearly present.
The dog always wags the tail on this planet…Someone will have to take a fresh look at this entire group of men in disguise and see obstruction of justice…conspiracy…intent for what it really is…
…final note…
Prima facie, some of the above was inserted just for you. Just to say you and I could be friends if we ever met because I like people with character, deplore the yes men…
I only critize myself and people I like. Just like in a family…
Sylvia, something for you also in there. Just to maintain the challenge alive…
Don’t know where I go from here. You realize I love to write but it takes me in places I do not wish to revisit. I agree it can get too personal. “I have said to much, I haven’t said enough…” I have to mourn my Father…prepare my income tax…shovel some snow…look for spring. Don”t know when I”ll return.
JGT
So glad to see you back Jean-Guy
So glad. As prima facia says below: “YOU ARE NEEDED.” Both of you are needed. You truly are kindred spirits: strong-willed fearless men with a passion for truth and justice.
You reference the dilemma of a Catholic policeman ‘messing’ with his own Church. Perry Dunlop faced the dilemma and did the right thing. After about 15 years years of heartache, persecution, villification and much spinning by fellow officers, lawyers and judges alike, Perry was in jail. He didn’t stand a chance against the collective . At the end of the day Perry spent more time behind bars than many a child molester. I think the treatment afforded Perry Dunlop for trying to protect children from “alleged” sexual predators will without doubt go a long way to deterring other honest cops who want to do the right thing but fear loss of job and/or the safety and well being of their families.
So, to pick up the challenge
I will do whatever I can and must to support victims, expose the cover-ups within the Church and ensure that children and the vulnerable are protected from known predatory priests. I will not and can not make excuses, nor can I defend the indefensible. But, yes, as strange as it may sound to you Jean-Guy and to many, and for all I have witnessed and know, I remain a practising Roman Catholic, and I love my suffering Church. The Church looks no more like the Church now than Christ looked like the Son of God when he hung on the Cross. I hold onto that and reflect on it often. I don’t understand, but I do trust that God in His goodness and wisdom knows what He is doing and why.
That said, I understand fully those who are angry with “the Church.” And I understand fully the disdain which many victims of clerical sex abuse have for RC clergy. I wish it were not so, but it is. Until the day comes that Church officials defrock all known predatory priests and treat the sex abuse of a child by a priest as the abomination that it is, things will not change too much. And, I should add, I believe that defrocking is the solution for those who continue to cover-up for and recycle known molesters, thereby wilfully place children and the vulnerable at risk, all the while deceiving unwitting and trusting Catholics.
And, if there is conspiracy, so be it. Get the evidence and lay the charges. I concur 100%. Clean house.
Does that follow through on the challenge Jean-Guy? or, am I way off base here?
Good day Jean-Guy: I am pleased to see that you are back. I believe people like you and me….and many others must “keep involved” somewhere, somehow; if not just to help “others” however possible,… but for our own emotional, psychological, etc. …survival. Perhaps we will back off for awhile, distance ourselves and reflect on our life experiences, but we will return to the “fight”, so-to-speak, because “it” is not over. We can learn to accept, get counselling and move on…..but what if the “same thing just keeps happening over and over again” to others, despite the promises of “change” from the “Powers That Be”. Can we truly help others, while at the same time, help ourselves. “But For The Grace of God”.
“We” must discover whether we can “productively” help other people, while causing as little harm to others, ourselves and our loved ones…..easier said than done.
YOU ARE NEEDED JEAN-GUY.
Whether we promise to ourselves that we won’t get involved or say another word……we will….we have to-as was mentioned more than once on this site, I trust and believe in “God Grant Me The Serenity To Accept The Things I cannot Change, COURAGE To Change The Things I Can And Wisdom To Know The Difference”. I pray that with God’s help, “God’s Will Be Done”.
I have not been personally sexually abused, but people very, very close to me have. And as you have probably read through Sylvia’s entry, I have spent much time with victims and survivors.
As I read your words, explaining your relationships with family members, the money I have spent, the jobs I have had, I think to myself, “Jean-Guy” must know me!!! How can he be “telling my story”, including being “kinda” pushed away from family and relatives, to unintentionally hurting others with my words.
I think the greatest thing that I learned in life was that “I am not alone”. Even though we are “different” in some ways Jean-Guy,….well, in some ways we are very similar….I learned and accepted that, “I was not crazy..” and should not be ostracized or feel “less than…”. At a time in my life, I decided to “learn”….to search for answers…in courts, law librairies.. with politicians I knew, business people, etc.
I returned to university and I challenged……..I learned that what I was “perceiving”, was, in many cases reality, despite efforts by “Powers that Be” to disuade me or lead me down a different path. Also, I am thankful for some of those “Powers”, who elected to help me—I will never mention their names to anyone….but I had to know.
The challenges you describe for “justice”, police forces, legislators and prominent personalities, TO DO SOMETHING BETTER, is something that I have pleaded for, for decades now….YOU ARE RIGHT….
Jean-Guy, despite the fact we have never met personally, I feel I know you and I truly believe, we are friends.
You and Jean-Guy really are kindred spirits prima facia
Amazing! And, thank God.
I was struck by a question of ¨relativity¨ last evening while watching the CTV news. I am still trying to understand that William RUSSELL, convicted rapist and murderer, it now appears was quite concerned about avoiding ¨child pornography¨ charges!!…Comments were made about his conscience and that he probably viewed crimes against children beyond anything he could live with. Rapist and murderer understands how despicable, damaging and reprehensible the abuse of children is to a healthy society. The charges against him it seems concerned his possession of photographs of teen age girls he had downloaded from the internet. He was not a participant and his conscience bothered him to that extent??!!…
What has the church missed in all this coverage of their lack or loss of conscience when one refers to the Pope’s comments about the 70′s mentality in society and how pedophilia had become more acceptable , to simplify it and not repeat all his nonsense…
Relatively speaking, a rapist and murderer has a conscience about child abuse and the catholic church (no capital letters, Please!) and the roman leadership!!???…are not quite sure yet.
I cannot compute this in my mind…
JG
I understand where you’re at Jean-Guy. Your blog got me thinking and took me off in another direction – I have posted my thoughts at the bottom of yesterday’s blog
Elie Theriault, 95 years old… He was 89 when he first told me he had been abused at 16 years young, the first time…
He passed away a year ago today. The abuse and its effects has been enduring for 80 years!!… We are/were a family of 11, including my parents. It was never easy and has been getting worse, for me anyway, in the last year. We barely speak, it takes an effort to attempt any fraternal connection. My father was a broken man most of his life and we have all been injured by the ” Holy Catholic Church”. My wife and I drove by one of those monstrous(!?) buildings yesterday, newly renovated, and I felt sick to my stomach.
Sad anniversary to commemorate, especially in remembrance of our lost lives and affectionate void between he and I, but I now understand better. I don’t feel as sorry for him or my mother anymore, or the rest of us. I pity the so called “Church”.
Reverence and respect for all “their” victims, known or in continued silence, as well as for their families and for all those working hard to understand and rid our lives of their poison… Abused children don’t have an expiration date attached to their pain, for those who believe “time” makes a difference!!..
Reverence and respect for my parents. They deserved a lot better!
I will never forget and I believe God is beyond forgiving the “takers” who have turned their backs on Him! I can no longer consider the “Church” as doing “His Will”…
One was too many!…Never forget.
JG
My deepest sympathies JG. This is a difficult day for you. May your dear father rest in peace.
I have said it before and will say it again, I know in my heart of hearts he would be proud of you, and I beleive too that he would be so thankful that you are doing all you can to prevent other young lads befalling his awfully fate as a victim to a predatory priest.
My thoughts and prayers JG, for you, and for a family broken and torn asunder.
I have added dates given to me by JG. Thanks for that ifno JG
I have also made note of the fact that the various communities within what is now the Diocese of Bathurst have at times been part of a different diocese. These boundary changes can create problems when trying to sort out in which diocese Gagnon was serving at certain times and therefore, who was his bishop. I decided the simplest thing to do in listing bishops in this case was to list those who were Bishops of Bathurst from 1944 when the last boundary changes transpired.
Sylvia,
Just a note…1931 to 1935 was in Arsenault, from there moved to Lamèque, N.B. or Miscou Island(neighboring communities) in 1936.
and Drummond would be in N.B. as well, in the Grand Falls area of northern N.B.
JG
Got it. Thanks
Sorry for this command in french!
Merci Jean-Gui pour tout, ce dont tu fait car ce sont tes interventions qui m’ont incité a porter plainte contre le diocèse concernant ce pédophile Léon Gagnon.
Ton père ainsi que beaucoup, beaucoup d’autres petits enfants, nous avons été victimes de son autorité.
On ne peux pas réaliser l’ampleurs des dommages que cela fait sur une personne abusée. Sa vie en est boulleversée dans tous les domaines.
Même si je croyais m’en être bien sortie, je réalise que non. Je vais devoir vivre avec cela jusqu’à ma mort.
Le pire c’est que mes proches ont dû subir mes sauts d’humeurs et le subissent encore.
De toute façon, merci Jean-Guy car si tu n’avais pas porté plainte sans doute que je ne me serais jamais avancé
Je sais qu’il y a bien d’autres petits enfants qui comme moi ont été abusé par ce Léon Gagnon. Je les incite a porter plainte contre le diocèse, car ces derniers savaient qu’il abusait des jeunes comme moi.
Réginald
Merci à toi Réginald.
Merci pour ton courage. Tu as maintenant une voix, tu as aussi la voix de mon Pére et tu sais mieux que je ne le saurai jamais la douleur qu’il a vécu toute sa vie. Tu as aussi la voix de tous ces enfants inconnus qui ont souffert, qui continuent d’être silencieux…
J’espère que tu auras tout le support nécessaire pour trouver le bonheur que tu mérites avec ta famille. Tu sais que tu peux compter sur moi si je peux t’aider. Tu n’as qu’a me faire signe…J’espère pouvoir te rencontrer dans un proche avenir.
Prends soins de toi et de ta famille. J’espère que ”les autres” vont entendre ton appelle. Gardes la tête Haute!
JG
Reginald, no apologies are required for posting your comments in French. I added a translate button to the site specifically so that you and others like you can share your thoughts. We want to and need to hear from you. Please continue to post your comments.
And, yes, what a blessing that through Jean-Guy you found your voice and the courage to speak out.
Don’t lose your voice Reginald. Others can gain strength by hearing you speaking out, just as you gained strength by hearing Jean-Guy speaking out.
My thoughts and prayers, and those of so many others, are with you.
Merci Sylvia et JG. Plus question de lâcher maintenant!
Réginald
I have added two pictures and updated the information on Father Leon Gagnon. I think I have the business of dioceses sorted out now. He probably was ordained for the Diocese of Chatham NB (later renamed Bathurst), but, at this point I can not prove that he was. I can however safely say that from 1931 to his death he was a priest with the Diocese of Chatham/Bathurst.
By the look of the information available, this priest was molesting within two years of his ordination. We know that he was reported at least twice to two different bishops. Gagnon was simply recycled!
If anyone has any further info please pass it along.
I did not know that this had surfaced.
I was a kid in school in Charlo when Fr. Gagnon was there and I’m not sure how much the parents knew or suspected. What I do know is that it was talked about in the school yard and one student in particular was always talked about as being his lover but I always attributed that to jealousy because the student in question had the use of his snowmobile.
I also remember that my brother, who’d always been told by my father that if he became an altar server it was a commitment he had to make until he left home, stopped being an altar server and told me “I didn’t become an altar server to be groped in the sacristy.” When I asked if it had actually happened to him, he replied, “Not yet and I’m quitting before it happens.” My father never commented on his decision.
To S. Mealey,
Thank You for your comment. I am happy that your brother and family were spared from this predator. I have just contacted the family who first provided the information on Gagnon’s time in Charlo and I salute you on their behalf since they are not visitors to this site or the internet…Suffice to say you have made their day! You are the first to stand up with them on this matter. Hopefully further healing will come out of this and other victims will gain strength from your presence.
JG
Re. the time line above. Fr. Gagnon ceased being the pastor in 1970 and was replaced by Fr. Chiasson who was there until 1983, so his name as pastor of St. Francois Xavier parish in ’71, ’72 is wrong.
As for the CCCD, I’m not sure what the problem is there. Priests are still listed in it after they retire, so you can’t judge by that. Since the parish of Balmoral is almost next door to Charlo it’s possible that the diocese saw no reason to change the listing, particularly since he was retired.
Is this the same Fr. Chiasson who moved to St. francoise d’assisse Parish in Ottawa, and was dismissed there when he stole all of the Parish money^ ^
No, Fr. Chiasson died in late 1983 or early 1984.
I am happy if my short statement helped someone feel they were believed. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that a family actually went to the Bishop about this and we never heard. The initials you gave, if not made up, would lead me to believe that it was one of my father’s cousins. Of course it may explain why my father never insisted that my brother remain an altar server, he knew or suspected what was going on — and for my dad that would have been a heart-breaking thing, strong as he was in his faith and the reverence in which he held the clergy.
…The initials are not made up, all for real. From what they have told me Gagnon became aware of their action and was less than generous with them, in front of the entire congregation. So, there was some public knowledge coming from a certain day in church where these people tell me they were humiliated in front of everyone and told they would be going to hell…by Gagnon. That is what I am told, you may be able to confirm….
As for your dad being crushed by such a revelation and not speaking about it, the same with my Father who never told Mother to protect her faith. Even more difficult for me to understand, my Father after all he went through, organized every detail of his funeral …within the catholic church. With all his faults(their faults) our parents had more dignity than a lot of those priests ever knew.
Yes, the bishops knew since 1935…A lot of damage could have been averted if they had acted according to their “faith”…
JG
I’m not surprised at your father’s faith. While he’d been greatly hurt it sounds like he was able to separate the persons who hurt him from the Church, Bride of Christ.
I can’t confirm Fr. Gagnon’s verbal attack on the people you speak of. If I’d been there it would have certainly made an impression since I was 16 at the time. Of course we didn’t always attend Mass in our own parish so we might not have been there.
S. Mealey…
Your comment about my “Father’s faith” and “the church bride” had nothing to do with my Father. Those are your beliefs, your faith..My Father could recite from the Old Testament and the Gospels but always regarded what came from “the church” with at least a touch of skepticism…that , even from the early church, which he thought had been manipulated for mere worldly purposes…Looking at history, with the basic education he had, he understood a lot more than some and always questioned everything, always looking for a solution, the correct answer. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree…
I believe there is a reason for everything and I am
thankful for your comment…It gave me three days to think of my Father’s motivation…You see, he became an orphan in 1919 when his Father passed away from the Spanish flu and was buried in a hurry with many other victims of that pandemic…I remember my Father being very emotional about not knowing where his Father was buried…no markers, nothing to relate to, no sign of belonging …That is where my Father’s (and my family’s)
tragedy began …He was a very practical man and I know he wanted to make sure there was a sign, a place, a time which said simply:”Elie Theriault was here”. I think it was that simple and that complicated, all at once. When I drive by the cemetery where he lies with my mother , I nod, sometimes recite the Lord’s prayer in silence and go about my day more easily.
He never had that and I think that was his last gift to his family and community.
jg
S. Mealey, thank you so very much for your contribution to this thread and our knowledge of what Father Gagnon was up to for all of those years. Without doubt this is a great comfort to Reginald, and also to you JG.
I have noted the fact that Gagnon was not in Charlo after 1970. The Church directories are sometimes out by a year – if a transfer is made after the CCCD goes to press then the info will be off by that one year. And, yes, priests are listed whether retired or not – the directory lists every priest in Canada, usually with an address and phone number. It is also not uncommon for a priest who is ‘retired’ to continue to assist in a local Church after retirement. It is still a bit of a puzzle that, in the 1973-74 CCCD Godin is shown as being in Port Landry.
Bit by bit we are putting the pieces together. Thanks to Reginald, JG and you, bit by bit the pieces are coming together.
One can only assume that he put in his resignation at age 70 and that it was accepted. But if he was healthy and the bishop needed someone to be pastor of a parish for a year or two he might have asked him to do it. I take it he’s listed as pastor? Or he might simply have moved there to be near relatives or friends.
I also don’t understand why he’d be listed as pastor in St. Therese parish in 1967. He became pastor in Charlo in 1966 In fact, it looks like the bishop simply switched our pastor for theirs: Fr. Honoré Marquis left Charlo and went to Robertville and Fr. Gagnon left Robertville and came to Charlo.
Bonjour, Ici à Robertville paroise de (St thérèse) le père Léon Gagnon n’avait pas de vicaire. Je me demande si partout ou il allait comme curé, est-ce qu’il n’avait jamais de vicaire avec lui. Cela lui permettait d’agir plus facilement avec nous les jeunes. A vérifier. Merci bien.
Réginald
Observation très intéressante Réginald…je crois que tu as entièrement raison!!! C’étais le cas a Saint-Martin, Robertville, probablement Charlo, Allardville également. Je ne suis pas certain pour Lamèque et Balmoral mais ce sont ou c’étaient de petites paroisses…Donc il avait toute la liberté d’agir a sa guise…C’est comme si ses ”patrons” lui ”permettait” de continuer d’abuser des enfants…Comme s’ils avaient mis un alcoholique en charge de la taverne(!!!!) en pleine conaissance de cause. Ton commentaire démontre bien ”l’irresponsabilité” de ces évêques, ce clergé pendant plus de 40 ans, de 1930 a 1970…Le site de Sylvia nous révèle le reste de l’horreur depuis…¨Ça ne s’est pas amélioré, plutôt le contraire!!
Bonne déduction Réginald! Le renard était seul dans le poulailler!!
Sylvia, do you have access to that information or should calls be made to the various areas to confirm whether Gagnon was alone in his various assignments…
Thanks.
jg
Charlo n’a jamais eu de vicaire, la paroisse était trop petite pour ça. De même pour Balmoral. Avait-il une ménagère? Je ne me souviens pas d’une ménagère quand il était à Charlo.
No, unfortunately I can’t readily access information which would tell me whether or not he was alone at any particular church JG.
Reginald raises a good point. We know that Church officials were informed in the 30s, and again in the early 60s that Gagnon was molesting children. He should of course have been removed, but he was not. I think it is fair to surmise that common sense should at the least have dictated that someone should be keeping a close eye on him. The fact that he was pastor in various parishes tells me that that was not the case. Even if he had a priest assisting him it is not the job of an assistant to keep an eye on their pastor. Keeping an eye on Gagnon would have entailed sending him to serve at a church as as an assistant, – with the pastor being made aware of the concerns and told to keep a close watch on him.
The bottom line is that I do believe that whether he was alone or had an assistant the fox still had the run of the house!
Still, it would be interesting to find out if ‘they’ saw fit to let him have the run of parish after parish on his own, wouldn’t it? If you or anyone can fill in those pieces, go for it!
He was certainly alone in Charlo, the parish was too small for two priests. I can’t remember a housekeeper either, the previous priest had come to the parish with a housekeeper who moved with him when he was transferred. I don’t ever recall Balmoral having a second priest either, but I could be wrong on that.
I wasn’t sure about Balmoral either, but I will try to find out. It seems there would have been more than one in Lamèque according to Lowell…
In Petit Rocher where he started his “career” there was a father Savoie and a Godbout at about the same time…
I guess the odds were in his favor and he did have very “limited
supervision”…Would it have made a difference?…
I doubt it.
From a life long resident in Balmoral, 70+ yrs old, Balmoral only ever had one priest at a time…Knew Gagnon but not of him. From our conversation, a friend of hers was questioning the reason for bringing this all out so many years later..her explanation simply was that you were not allowed to even discuss “the priest” for any reason in those days…
They have now heard.
jg
Yes, as they used to say at home “On ne parle pas d’un prêtre en bien, de peur d’en parler en mal.” Priests were simply not up for discussion.
There was an interesting phenomenon going on back then. They certainly didn’t understand pedophilia or its impact on the victim. I remember a community member going to the police about one of her daughters having been molested by an old man (not a priest, but I mention it to show community reaction). I was a child and the conversations I overheard at the time meant nothing to me. When I questioned my father decades later, he confirmed what I now suspected. The strange thing was that the mother was the one condemned for reporting it. The old man was never charged and nothing ever happened to him. Yet from the conversations I overheard nobody had been surprised by the charges. They just turned their heads the other way. I’m sure that would have happened even more with a priest as the molester.
C’est vraiment de valeur, que mme Doucet la servante du père Gagnon soit décédée.Quelques années avant de décéder, elle a avoué a mavoisine que son fils avait été lui aussi abusé par ce pédophile et cette voisine est venue me voir pour savoir si c’était vraie que moi et son fils avaient été abusés. Malheureusement, ce jeune qui a été abusé par Gagnon est maintenant décédé du cida.
Tu sais Jean-Guy, tu peux le dire un coq dans un poulaillé! En tout cas à Robertville de 1963 a à 1966 je peux te dire que c’était un vraie poulaillé ce presbitère.
Réginald,
On ne connaitra jamais tous les détails et on ne saura jamais toute la vérité…Heureusement d’une certaine façon parce que c’est déjà assez répugnant avec ce qui est connu!!!
Ton autre question a savoir si Gagnon était seul dans les différentes paroisses, j’ai fait quelques appels et il y aurait eu trois(3) paroisses ou il aurait eu de la compagnie!! Comme Sylvia a mentionnée plus haut, ça n’aurait pas fait de différence pour ce prédateur de toute façon…Il y a même quelqu’un qui m’a dit que Gagnon avait abusé de deux frères(des cousins de mon ”informateur”) et qu’il était un visiteur ”fréquent” dans la famille des deux jeunes….comme ça s’est vu ailleurs et discuté fréquemment sur ce site…
Le premier village d’ou Gagnon est arrivé en 1931 aurait été Petit Rocher et non Beresford come le croyait mon Père…et comme je le relatais dans la lettre du mois de juin 2010 au Diocèse de Bathurst par le biais du médiateur, le Juge Vienneau.
Mon Père fait état du ”Curé” qui aurait également profiter de lui…J’ai deux noms possible que je n’avancerai pas …Par contre je vais faire parvenir la liste des prêtres et curés qui ont ”servis” a Petit Rocher a Sylvia et lui laisse le choix de publier ou non…Je sais que l’un des deux noms a fait l’objet d’accusations mais la preuve est probablement dissimulée dans les archives de la médiation du Juge Bastarache!!!
jg
oops…
Juge Vienneau ci-haut devrait se lire ”Juge Bastarache”…
Vienneau est ”évêque Vienneau” du diocèse de Bathurst…
jg
Jean-Guy,
Mon père me disait qu’il avait été guérit par le vicaire Léon Gagnon quand il était vicaire à Petit-Rocher.
Mon père a cette époque était couché depuis plusieurs mois sans pouvoir marcher!Mon grand-père aurait fait appel au père Gagnon pour qu’il aide mon père à marcher.
Immagine toi, il a réussi a faire marcher mon père. Il était très difficile de convaincre mon père que j’étais abusé parlui, car il était reconnu comme un prête qui faisait des miracles……..
Tu es le seul avoir mentionné le ”miracle” par rapport a ce pédophile mais tu as aussi pensé qu’il aurait probablement attrapé ton Père par ses parties génitales pour y arriver!
C’était surement toute une motivation pour vouloir courir a l’école!!
S’il a ”fait” un miracle ça été de disparaitre derrière sa soutanne pour profiter de la crédulité de ses paroissiens.
jg
Tu a lu dans mes pensées J.G.
Toutefois, comme nous entendons dire qu’il abusé celui-ci ou celui-là, je me demande pourquoi nous n’avons pas une page au complet des personnes qui ont été abusés par ce dernier.
J’ai vu et je sais que par chez-nous il y en a eu plusieurs qui ont été abusés, comme moi. Je ne suis pas le seule. Avancez-vous, cela n’est pas gênant. Nous étions des jeunes mineurs victimes de ce grand loup comme J.G. le surnomme et avec raison.
I sent an E-mail to Sylvia just last week to advise her there had been a “resolution” in the action against the Diocese of Bathurst , bishop Valery Vienneau and the deceased Gagnon…
I told Sylvia I felt kind of a “despair”…more of a “hollow feeling” I should have said…
If any of you could see the short 13 minutes film with my Father on his death bed you would hear that I asked him if an “apology from the bishop” is what was needed to give him some Peace…That was my first objective, initially, and in my naivety I thought it would be all over in a week, at the most!…that when I contacted the bishop, he would have been on the phone…at best he would have made the short “one hour” to my Father’s bedside…
The rest of this story is much less inspiring!!
I told Sylvia it was like having someone dying in your arms…your child maybe…that feeling of helplessness …or I could have added it is probably like going through the first words of a divorce…or knowing that someone is inside a burning house and you are helpless at calling them out…they are too busy looking for their “valuables” and they will perish in doing so… That kind of “hollow despair” in the middle of your chest…
That is the feeling of the last year as it concerns the “church “of my youth…
The Diocese of Bathurst(the lawyers!) have reached an agreement and a “token” donation has been made to the local soup kitchen, mostly I believe to secure a legal signature from my family, to put this to rest, so that no one or their relatives, or their dogs and any type of life form, for ever and ever will even consider taking action…
Anyway, I thought some may be interested to know…It cost them very little, an amount which would soon be paid with the “2 cents” movement…and it could have cost them so much less…
I wanted an APOLOGY for my Father..until it became worthless!
After the varied implication of five(5) different lawyers, the only letter, signature, sign of life from Bishop Vienneau, was his request for a “RECEIPT” …
They really don’t get any of it!
…and they are waiting for the “victims” to die off.
I was looking to see and feel just a touch of Humility, a glimmer of Hope, some Generosity, Forgiveness, Repentance and the Love of Christ…just a sign that they understand what they have been teaching and claiming as their own…
The Bishop did nothing except seek revenge and ask for a RECEIPT!..
jg
JG, I am so terribly sorry it ended this way. So terribly terribly sorry.
Yes, a little wee bit of the love of Christ would have gone so far – a teeny glimmer of the compassion we rightly expect but so desperately yearn for from our shepherds.
You are so right JG: They just don’t get it! It’s all reduced to dollars and cents and, yes, lawyers.
What of souls? What of salvation?
It would be nice, I would think, if the bishop had offered to have a Mass said for the repose of your dear father’s soul on the anniversary of his death – in perpetuity. That could have been a small non-monetary but very spiritual offering from the bishop to show you and your family that he cares, and that you father’s soul has merit and warrants those Masses. But, no, the shepherd isn’t thinking souls and salvation – he’s thinking legalities, and he’s looking for a receipt.
May your dear father’s soul rest in peace.
JG….I hope it means something to you to know that I have read…in both english and french here….your story….and that while I am saddened for you, I am glad this site has given you the opportunity to tell your personal story about your father….to the world!
You say above: “I was looking to see and feel just a touch of Humility, a glimmer of Hope, some Generosity, Forgiveness, Repentance and the Love of Christ…just a sign that they understand what they have been teaching and claiming as their own…
The Bishop did nothing except seek revenge and ask for a RECEIPT!..”
Let the Bishop, his priests and staff know that we are disappointed in them. I’m pretty sure there are in here reading all this….probably to see what “damage control” they can do after their parishes and parishoners read this too. JG, you may not have gotten an apology or a Mass said on the anniversary of your father’s death, but you have gotten a chance to tell your story to the world. More and more Catholics are seeing the truth in here….the ugly truth, I’m sad to say…and the “two cents” worth will become a reality.
Much of what you say about not questioning the priest and being told ” …..where these people tell me they were humiliated in front of everyone and told they would be going to hell…by Gagnon.”
was evident by priests in Newfoundland also. It was universal. The order was ~God, the Pope, and your local priest.~ And to think the Bishops did nothing about this?!! The same holds true even today, to some extent. There is still a hidden protective shield around the Church that the RC church is trying to protect. But slowly the laity and all the “press” ….and sites like Sylvia’s….. are exposing the truth.
So I just thought I would let you know that I am aware of your story. God bless you and may God continue to love your dad and mom above.
Sylvia,
Thank You for what you are doing, every day. I’m glad I was able to tell “our” story and I hope it will help others. I didn’t expect much, I just remember I felt it was what I was supposed to do. I would recommend to others in the same situation to go to the Police before it is too late…So that this abuse of children can be stopped, in broad daylight, not in the “secrets of the Church”…
Mike Mc.
Thanks to you as well. I have been reading everything of yours on the site in the last few weeks and I have to say I enjoy your “style” and your well grounded mind. Don’t stop contributing. You are a breath of fresh air, of common sense…Can’t add anything to your comments above and you say it more clearly than I could.
Many others as well, Anne C., Elizabeth, Cheryl-Helen, Larry, 1 abandoned sheep, John, Tim, Tom and on and on…You are all very interesting, insightful and a source of Hope…If I ever said anything to hurt or make anyone feel less of themselves and to have doubt, I sincerely “apologize” and wish you the best life has to offer. My intentions were only to open a door, to shed a bit of my light…
…and there would be no Hope if we didn’t care and look after the children.
As for the Church, the hierarchy…I won’t waste any more time with them.
Time for a pause!
Be good and be true.
Sylvia has a picture of my parents to post with a comment.
jg
I have posted the picture and your email JG. I also posted the picture on the page above.
What a striking couple: he dapper and handsome; she exquisitely beautiful. Thank you JG for sharing that with us. Yes, it does remind us that people were cheated in the name of Jesus. You, as the son of a man who was betrayed and abused by his parish priest, know only too well the damage done and the deleterious impact it had on your family. That your father was 89-years-old before he said a word to anyone about the abuse speaks volumes. Thank God he didn’t, as many no doubt do, carry it with him to the grave.
For all his foibles JG, your father raised you well. That beautiful woman who was you mother no doubt played an instrumental role in shaping your character too. I have told you often that your father would be proud of you. I mean it. So would your mother.
And now we have the privilege of looking at the picture of that young couple, your parents, so much in love. You know the rest of the story – we a know a little.
Thank you JG.
Dear JG,
I also was not aware of your story until noticing the recent posts and following your late and beloved father’s ordeal on this website from the beginning. We don’t know the purposes of God, but I do believe that victims of these horrible crimes will receive special graces through the hands of Our Holy Mother for eternity, who has received their sufferings as reparations and penances.
The omnipotent and omniscient Almighty, Our Father Who Art In Heaven, had God’s foreknowledge of the 20th-century loss of moral responsibility afflicting our world, clergy and secular alike. The early 17th-century revelations to Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres in Quito, Ecuador, specifically discussed crises to occur in the Church in the 20th-century to come, 350 years later. The Fatima-associated apparitions of Jesus and Mary and the Holy Trinity, warned Sister Lucia from 1917, and onwards for decades, that World War II would lead to worldwide apostasy. Sister Faustina in Poland died before WWII in 1935, and Sister Pierina in Italy died in 1945. Both were instructed by Jesus Christ to promulgate the divine promise of His Mercy through means they were to be instrumental in making accessible to all faithful individuals, quite aside from available ceremonies in Church buildings (i.e., the miraculous painting of the Divine Mercy; the miraculous Image of the Holy Face).
I respect your father’s meticulous planning of his own Catholic funeral, and his caring so much to protect the tender faith of his wife, your mother. It is not ‘change’ the Church needs, but restoration.
Cheryl-Helene,
I always like to read your posts because you are always very interesting(and you have made me laugh out loud many times!…thank you for being a Newfoundlander!…) and not necessarily always right, as none of us are. We all have a piece of the Truth…and I will not get into a “religion” debate…too exhausting and you have too much information… I would only be providing you with a shovel!…But I”ll tell you this much: I try to “Live” my faith every day in the work I do, in the care I take, in the little things…I talk very little about God and seldom speak of Jesus or my deep beliefs…because I think I need to “Live” the lessons of the gospels in my life and to be an example. That simple and that complicated….because that is how I learned from my parents, from the good people around me.
I like to do simple things well and I think “He” is more than capable of handling the more difficult “stuff”…Like I told Larry on the previous entry, “He” is carrying me , after all…I am just a “child” with no pretense to understanding His ways…I barely know the “alphabet” of Life…He is writing the Book…
I just make the toasts for everyone’s breakfast, in my house!…
I like to keep things simple and contemplate the Forest…I don’t wish to count the trees…That is your “job” and you do it well most of the time…I’ll keep reading your accounts and I hope you will still make me laugh once in a while…
jg
What a refreshing post thanks !
You’re welcome, jg. And you’re right, I do like to dig around with my shovel. It’s amazing what can be unearthed!
Cheryl-Helene
…Diggin’ into “The Rock”!!!…and you call it “earth”!!??…Tough lady!!..Only fitting and inspiring that you continue your “job” into the “rock foundation” of the Church…
We need all the shovels we can find… they keep back-filling…and their shovels are much bigger!
There is a child in every hole!
jg
Finalement, j’ai passé devant les avocats du diocèse le 10 janvier dernier.
On ma fait une offre la semaine dernière et nous en sommes à la contre offre.
Je devrais avoirune réponse sous peu.
J’ai appris, que nous étions 5 personnes à avoir porté plainte contre ce Léon Gagnon.
J’aimerais que d’autres s’avancent car même si cela était seulement pour vanger mes deux amis qui se sont suicidés après avoir été abusés.
Moi j’ai survécu à ces abus, mais eux non.
J’en connais d’autre qui se sont eux aussi fait abusé entre ces années de 1963 a 1967 à Robertville N.B.
Is that offer tied into the Bastarache/diocese deal Reginald? (Would someone who is bilingual help us out here please
)
No, this is with another diocese lawyer, Bastarache is out of the picture. About 30 refused, either Bastarache’s offer or did not want to participate, with him. I myself didn’t go via Bastarache route, because he told us on the 8 of May 2010, that he was not employed for making changes. Reginald, has just found out that 5 other victims of the same priest has come foward! His accepting the offer and I’m happy for him and Reginald reward/treat yourself and your beautiful wife! May the healing process begin!
Yes, Reginald, I’m happy for you and I hope they are not going to drag this out any further so that you can move on with a ”little” victory”…Keep your head up ”mon ami”…
Réginald found out about 5 victims(he included I believe) and this predator from 1931 to 1935 already had 7 victims to his name…(just what I found out in the last year…80 years after the fact!!) and it didn’t stop there! I know the names of another 4 within an hour of my residence who did not come forward…
He use to be accompanied by a ”young man” during his vacations to Florida every year..!!! He traveled to Israel and England…not sure if he had company!
Average one a year, his victims are probably several times what we know.
Some still pretend the church did not and does not now have a problem…Reality check!!…
We need to keep the iron in the fire!
Good for you Réginald!
jg
Sylvia et JG,
Comme Lowell la mentionné, moi c’est avec l’avocat Talache de l’ontario.
Nous avons fait une contre offre et devrions connaître le déroulement sous peu.
Et bien oui JG, je sasi qu’il y doit en avoir beaucoup plus qui ont été abusés dans leurs enfance par cet homme de Dieu.
Malheureusement, il va garder son titre de prêtre.
Thank you for that update Reginald. I am happy that that this is nearing an end for you. And, yes, sadly, no matter what we know of him now he will forever be Father Gagnon.