Parish priest he assisted had no idea of colleague’s past
Vancouver Sun
By Kristy Nease, The Ottawa Citizen
May 6, 2011 1:13 PM
Rev. John “Jack” McCann’s permission to work in Ottawa was revoked by the Archdiocese of Ottawa on April 29 after his past convictions for sexual assault came to light.
Photograph by: Tiziana fabi, AFP/Getty Images
OTTAWA — An 82-year-old Roman Catholic priest who served jail time for sexually molesting two British Columbia girls in the 1970s — who were both under 16 when the incidents began — has been assisting at an Ottawa parish for at least the past decade.
Rev. John “Jack” McCann, whose permission to work in Ottawa was revoked by the Archdiocese of Ottawa on April 29, is a member of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI), which has a residence on Main Street.
At Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish on St. Laurent Boulevard, McCann had been filling in for Rev. Stephen Liang while he was away, performing occasional masses and interacting with parishioners at various socials. Liang, who has been with the parish for about four years, said McCann was there when he arrived. Msgr. Kevin Beach, the archdiocese’s vicar general, confirmed McCann has been in Ottawa for at least 10 years.
McCann’s religious career is overseen not by the Archdiocese of Ottawa, according to Beach, but by his religious superior at the OMI, Rev. John Malazdrewich, who was not immediately available for comment on Friday. Beach said none of the archdiocese’s records includes any details about McCann’s criminal past, and he said he can’t be sure if McCann was granted permission to practise occasional ministry by the archdiocese.
“I don’t know what permission he was given back then, but I can tell you today that any priest from any origin who is here requires faculties before they can do ministry,” Beach said. “Faculties” is official permission granted by the archdiocese.
In 1992, McCann pleaded guilty to molesting two girls and was sentenced to 10 months in jail. His relationship with one of the girls, which began when she was in her early teens, lasted until she was nearly 20 years old. The offences took place while McCann was a priest at St. Augustine’s parish in Vancouver and St. Peter’s parish in New Westminster.
One of his victims, Leona Munnalall, told the Vancouver Sun in 1994 how McCann lured her into near-daily sex, starting at the age of 13. Munnalall went public because she believed it would help the Catholic Church face up to sex abuse by priests. She went to police with her complaints against McCann after hearing he had been transferred to a Catholic parish on Saltspring Island, where she feared someone else might be victimized.
At the time of his conviction, McCann was reported to have been terminated from parish ministry. Beforehand, he had served as parish priest in Nootka from 1959 to 1963, in Lethbridge from 1963 to 1970, in Fort St. John from 1981 to 1983, in Edmonton from 1984 to 1990, and on Saltspring Island from August 1990 until October 1990.
Liang of Mount Carmel said Friday that he had no idea about McCann’s past.
“The archdiocese was just informed themselves on Friday, the 29th of April,” Liang said. “It was news to them, too. They had no idea, as far as I can tell, of his background, of his previous criminal conviction of sexual assault in the 1990s, so they were just as surprised as myself.”
Liang said McCann’s work at Mount Carmel parish — made up of mainly elderly parishioners — did not include contact with children. “The parishioners seemed to get along well with him, as far as I know, and I haven’t had any complaints, major complaints of any misconduct on his part, so it hadn’t come to my attention,” Liang said.
“It comes to me as a really big shock … Why wasn’t I made aware of his background, because I’m responsible as a pastor, the parish priest here, for this parish’s welfare and of my parishioners. It certainly would have been extremely helpful if I knew of his background. He wouldn’t even have been able to officiate as a priest in any ministry in the archdiocese of Ottawa if my superiors knew about it. They would have not allowed him to step in here in the first place.”
McCann’s whereabouts were revealed by the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a U.S.-based support and advocacy group that investigated after receiving a tip from “a concerned Canadian.”
The organization, known as SNAP, is calling on Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast to immediately suspend McCann and alert every parish where he has worked about his criminal record.
This is ridiculous! Really and truly ridiculous. Now we are to believe that not a soul in the Archdiocese of Ottwa knew that Father Jack McCann/John McCann omi is a convicted molester?
Who’s running the ship here? In this day and age, who’s running the ship? How can it be possible that not one single soul in the Archdiocese knew? Surley four years is more than suffice for an Archbishop to scrutinize the files and backgrounds of every priest in his diocese? Archbishop Prendergast has been in the Ottawa Archdiocese for four years. Why did he not know that McCann is a convicted molester? Why did he not know that Father Ed MacNeil is convicted molester?
This is just too much.
Why, if no one knew, did someone from the archdiocesan office say that McCann was allowed to say Mass under supervision? Where does that fit in? If no one knew, why would McCann need supervision?
God help us!
Soon after Bishop Lahey was arrested it was once again revealed that a former Mount Cashel orphan had told a priest about seeing pornography in Bishop Lahey’s home. That priest reported this to Archbishop Alphonsus Penney. We don’t know what Archbishop Penney did with that information. When asked about this by Archbishop Currie, my understanding is that Archbishop Penney refused comment because the the matter was before the courts and he was not in good health. His health , however,did not prevent him from travelling to visit relatives. Now that Bishop Lahey has pleaded guilty, I think Archbishop Currie, as chief shepherd of the St. John’s archdiocese, should revisit that question with Archbishop Penney for his answer because, if Archbishop Penney had done what he should have, this sorry mess would have stood a chance of being ended back in the late eighties. If Archbishop Penney was negligent, he should own up to it no matter how old he is. Accountability here is essential or are we going to continue with the cover up? It was Archbishop Penney’s duty to report on Bishop Lahey’s conduct to the Papal Nuncio in Ottawa. If the Nuncio was doing his job, Bishop Lahey should have been removed from office by the Vatican. We’re waiting for your answer Archbishop Penney and for you to ask the question again Archbishop Currie.
Good point Newfoundland Dog. Good point.