Robert J Morrissey
Bob Morrissey
Brother Frederick (prior to ordination Morrissey was a Christian Brother. He was knonw as Brother Frederick. As a twenty-year-old in the early 60s he supervised boys at Christian-Brothers-operated-school St. John’s Training School, in Uxbridge, Ontario. The sex abuse stems from his time at the training school)
Priest, Diocese of London, Ontario. Ordained 15 October 1971. 1992: Charges of attempted buggery, indecent assault, gross indecency and assault causing bodily harm. CONVICTED. (offences transpired while, as a 20-year-old, Morrissey was a teacher and supervisor at St. John’s training school in Oxbridge, Ontario, He was 20-years-old at the time.) Sentenced to 18 months. Morrissey attempted to appeal the conviction. The appeal was dismissed.
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Bishops of London Diocese from time of Father Marshall’s ordination to present:
Gerald Emmett Carter (17 February 1964 – 29 April 1978 -Appointed, Archbishop of Toronto, Ontario) John Michael Sherlock (7 July 1978 – 27 April 2002 ); Ronald Peter Fabbro, C.S.B. (27 Apr 2002 – - )
Auxiliary Bishops: John Michael Sherlock (25 June 1974 — Bishop: 7 Jul 1978); Marcel André J. Gervais (19 Apr 1980 – 3 May 1985); Frederick Bernard Henry (18 April 1986 -o 24 Mar 1995); Richard John Grecco (5 December 1997 – 27 April 2002); Robert Anthony Daniels ( 21 September 2004 to 1 March 2011)
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11 February 1993: R. v. Morrissey: Between Her Majesty the Queen, and Robert Morrissey, Accused
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The following information is drawn from the Canadian Catholic Church Directories (CCCD) which I have on hand, the 1980 Ontario Catholic Directory (OCD), media (M) and R. v. Morrissey (R v Morrissey)
2010: apartment on McGarrell Dr., London, Ontario (CCCD)
2002, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995, 1994, 1993: address c/o diocesan centre Diocese of London, Ontario (CCCD)
1995: conviction appealed. Appeal dismissed
February 1993: sentenced to 18 months
1992: sex abuse trial. CONVICTED
address for the diocesan centre for the Archdiocese of Edmonton, Alberta 8421 – 101 st. Ave., Edmonton, Alberta 403-469-1010 (what was he doing out there?) (Archbishop McNeil) (CCCD)
1991: Pastor at Our Lady of the Prairies in Daysland, Alberta, with missions at St. Boniface in Spring Lake, St. Joseph in Bawif, St. Elizabeth in Rosalind, St. Martin in Heisler, and Saint Mary in Forestburg (what’s he doing out West? In the Archdiocese of Edmonton?) (Joseph McNeil, Archbishop) (CCCD) (I have been told by a reliable source that Fathers Morrissey and Gary Roy headed West to the Archdiocese of Edmonton at the same time, the exact year of departure is presently unknown. The pair were good friends, so much so that Roy had named his cat Morrissey)
Seems he was under investigation in late 1991. In November 1991 had a severe heart attack. (R. v. Morrissey)
Charges laid in November 1991?
served served somewhere as hospital chaplain – hospital and dates unknown (R. v. Morrissey)
1985-86: not listed in index, but shown as Pastor at Immaculate Heart RC Church in Grand Bend, Ontario (CCCD)
1980: Sacred Heart RC Church in Ingersoll, Ontario with Msgr. V,H, Grespan (CCCD)
1971-72: St. Michael RC Church, London, Ontario (Pastor Msgr. J.A. Feeney) (Carter) (CCCD)
1971: ORDAINED – as a priest for the Diocese of London, Ontario
1969: Left the Christian Brothers. Entered St. Peter’s Seminary, London, Ontario (R. v. Morrissey) (Carter must have agreed to take him in as a diocesan priest in the Diocese of London, Ontario)
1968: B.A. from University of Windsor, Ontario
June 1967: rejoined the Christian Brothers
1962: Left the Christian Brothers. “was refused his vows in April of that year with the notation concerning him, ’devoted to class work and religious obligations, evidence of emotional immaturity and of indiscretion, pleasant character.’”. (R. v. Morrissey).
December 1961: transferred to Montreal, Qubec (R. v. Morrissey)
1960-61: supervisor and teacher at St. John’s, Uxbridge, Ontario. Morrissey was age 20 at the time. The 1993 conviction offences relates to sex abuse offences committed during his time at St. John’s. (M)
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February, 1993: Father Robert Morrissey is sentenced to 18 months’ probation on charges of attempted buggery, indecent assault and assault. He appeals in March 1995, but the appeal is dismissed.
http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/goodfather/timeline.html
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New trials ordered for priest, father
Vancouver Sun
16 March 1995
TORONTO — The Ontario Court of Appeal has set aside sex-assault convictions of a Roman Catholic priest and a father of two young children, saying judges at their trials misunderstood key areas of evidence.
In separate rulings Tuesday, the court ordered new trials for Rev. Robert Morrissey and the father, who was identified only as “G.G.”
The charges against Morrissey, 55, involved allegations dating from the early 1960s when he was a Brother of the Christian Schools and working at St. John’s Training School in Uxbridge, Ont.
After a trial in Whitby, the priest was convicted of four charges and sentenced to 18 months. But in the appeal hearing last September, lawyer Brian Greenspan argued that the trial judge seriously misunderstood the evidence of two complainants.
The court concluded the misunderstandings amounted to a miscarriage of justice.
Morrissey was serving as a parish priest in Daysland, Alta., at the time the charges were laid.
The other case involved convictions for sexual assault causing bodily harm, sexual interference and assault related to alleged abuse of a father’s five-year-old daughter after he and his wife separated. He was sentenced to four years in prison.
The appeal court found that in view of the lack of physical evidence to support the child’s allegations of serious abuse, the trial judge “misapprehended” other evidence as bolstering the allegations.
Justice John Laskin said the trial judge “took evidence which did nothing more than reflect the normal reaction of a loving parent in the appellant’s position and turned it into evidence confirmatory of bizarre sexual behaviour.”
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Canadian Press
16 April 1993
LONDON, Ont. (CP)
A Catholic bishop has angered victims’ right advocates by publicly proclaiming the innocence of a former priest convicted of buggery and indecent assault of boys.
Bob Morrissey has appealed his 1992 conviction, insisting he is innocent “and I believe him. I think there has been a misunderstanding,” Bishop John Sherlock told the Easter edition of the London diocese’s newsletter.
Victims’ supporters quickly condemned the bishop’s comments distributed through the newsletter to about 100 parishes in this southwestern Ontario city.
“He has used that position of power in order to send out a message that will silence future victims,” said Cat Charissage, executive director London’s Sexual Assault Centre
“If what he is trying is to show kindness and compassion for Father Morrissey, he has done it at the expense . . . of any man or woman who is thinking of coming forward.”
Morrissey was convicted last year of five charges, including attempted buggery and indecent assault of boys and sentenced to 18 months in jail. He had worked in parishes in southwestern Ontario and Alberta.
“I’ve spent hours and hours and hours with him (Morrissey), and I believe him,” Sherlock said in an interview Thursday.
“There was no desire to deny the guilt of some who have been convicted,” he said.
“I know that sexual abuse has taken place (in the church) and I’m deeply regretful and ashamed about it. But not everybody who is accused is guilty.”
Sherlock noted there were nearly 400 letters of support written to the judge attesting to Morrissey’s character.
But Julie Lee, executive director of London’s Battered Women’s Advocacy Centre, said Sherlock’s comments show an “inappropriate regard for the judicial system,” and perpetuate a myth that sexual abusers cannot also be seemingly good people.
“It’s archaic that someone who represents the church would be in contempt of what the community has established as the standards for due process,” she said.
The sexual abuse charges stemmed from the early 1960s when Morrissey taught and supervised a dormitory at St. John’s Training School, a Catholic-run detention centre in Uxbridge, north of Toronto.
Morrissey was not a priest at the time. He was removed from his parish when charges were laid about two years ago.
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Canadian Press
11 February 1993 22.18 EST
WHITBY, Ont. (CP)
A Roman Catholic priest was sentenced Thursday to 18 months in jail for sex crimes against boys he supervised at a reform school 30 years ago.
Rev. Robert Morrissey, 52, who has worked in parishes in southwestern Ontario and Alberta, was convicted last year of five charges, including attempted buggery and indecent assault.
Morrissey, now of London, Ont., taught and supervised a dormitory at St. John’s Training School, a Catholic-run detention centre in Uxbridge, Ont., north of Toronto, between 1960 and 1961.
He is the only priest among 28 Christian Brothers, former brothers and staff charged after an investigation into St. John’s and a Catholic-run school in Alfred, east of Ottawa.
Morrissey sat expressionless and declined an opportunity to speak before sentencing.
Justice John Kerr of the Ontario Court’s general division in Whitby, just east of Toronto, called the case unique because of the length of time since the offences and the absence of evidence the priest later committed similar crimes.
“Instead, there was sworn character evidence at the trial which painted a glowing picture of the accused as a dedicated, hardworking, compassionate and effective priest,” the judge said.
During a three-week trial, former St. John’s inmates, now men in their mid-40s, related a litany of degrading abuse by the clergyman.
Morrissey has worked at several London parishes and was pastor of congregations in Grand Bend, Ont., and Our Lady of the Prairies in Daysland, Alta., southweast of Edmonton.
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Canadian Press
October 19, 1992
WHITBY, Ont. (CP)
A Roman Catholic priest charged with sexual assaulting boys in his care more than 30 years ago doesn’t fit the profile of a homosexual pedophile, a psychiatrist testified Monday.
And Father Robert Morrissey would have to be a homosexual pedophile to have done what the seven charges he faces suggest, said Dr. Basil Orchard, an expert in the field of diagnosing deviant sexual behavior.
The doctor testified as a defence witness at the trial of Morrissey, who was known as Brother Frederick when he taught at St. John’s Training School, a Roman Catholic-run reform school in Uxbridge, Ont., in the 1960s.
Morrissey, 52, of London, Ont., was a member of the Brothers of the Christian Schools when he taught and supervised boys at St. John’s.
He has pleaded not guilty to seven charges in this community east of Toronto, including attempted buggery, indecent assault, gross indecency and assault causing bodily harm.
He is one of 28 former Christian Brothers and employees from St. John’s and St. Joseph’s training school in Alfred, Ont., facing charges.
Orchard told Justice John Kerr of Ontario Court’s general division that he drew his conclusions after a three-hour interview with Morrissey and from the results of a psychological examination.
The doctor said he formed the opinion Morrissey was a person to whom his guiding principles of life were important and who would have had to break those principles to behave as the charges allege he did.
He was a person whose sexual interests would be in heterosexual relationships, court was told.
The trial continues.
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Complaints against priests kept secret, bishop testifies
A high official of the Roman Catholic Church has admitted files containing complaints against priests – including those of sexual misconduct – are kept secret.
These files are kept secret by bishops of dioceses because the information they contain could be damaging to the priests against whom the complaints are leveled, Bishop John Michael Sherlock told a court yesterday.
Sherlock, who is Roman Catholic bishop of the London, Ont., diocese, responsible for parishes in the nine counties of southwest Ontario and an expert on canon (church) law, made his revelation of the secret files during his evidence on behalf of Father Robert Morrissey, 52, of London.
Morrissey, also known as Brother Frederick, was a member of the lay order Brothers of the Christian Schools when he supervised problem children at St. John’s Training School, a Roman Catholic- run reform school in Uxbridge, north of Metro.
Morrissey is being tried in Ontario Court, general division, in Whitby on seven charges, including attempted buggery, indecent assault, gross indecency and assault causing bodily harm.
He is one of 28 former Christian Brothers and employees from St. John’s and another Catholic-run training school – St. Joseph’s Training School in Alfred, east of Metro – facing charges dating back five decades.
The bishop was one of the first witnesses called yesterday, as Morrissey’s lawyer, William Markle, opened the case for the defence.
“I have never had a greater positive reaction from people (parishioners) than I have had about Father Morrissey,” the Bishop told Mr. Justice John Kerr.
He had known Morrissey since 1974 and regarded him as a personal friend.
The bishop had appointed Morrissey as priest in the new parish of Grand Bend because “I was totally convinced he would give it the leadership it needed,” he said.
He had also moved Morrissey to the diocese of Edmonton where he became the parish priest of Our Lady of the Prairies in Daysland, Alta.
In answer to questions from Crown Attorney Mary Lou Dickie during her cross- examination, the bishop went on to say that, in the past five years, rules on how the church treats complaints of this type have changed in response to recommendations by Canadian bishops following incidents involving priests.
Allegations levelled at priests are referred immediately to a church committee appointed to deal with them and are reported to the police.
The church then carries out a parallel investigation to the police probe, he said.
Rumors are also now thoroughly investigated, the bishop said.
“Before there was a hesitancy to deal with rumors,” he said.
If charges or rumors are proved true, the church usually sends the offending priest to a centre for assessment and counselling, the bishop said.
It was “not uncommon” for priests to ask to go for the assessment process because of depression and other problems, Sherlock said.
Priests could also be fired if allegations against them prove true, the bishop said.
“There is a much greater awareness now that things such as these occur,” he said.
“This awareness was not present in the 1960s, either in the church, or society in general.”
The bishop told the court the Christian Brothers was an international religious organization with a “Pontifical right,” which meant it was not under the authority of any bishop, but came directly under the Vatican.
Other defence witnesses heard yesterday came from the Alberta and southwestern Ontario parishes that Morrissey had overseen. All said they had never heard a complaint about his morals or conduct.
Earlier in the trial, a 46-year-old man told the court that in 1961, when he was a 14- year-old at St. John’s, his penis had been fondled by Brother Frederick, who approached him in a bathroom and accused him of masturbating.
The man went on to explain to the crown attorney that at St. John’s, where he had served two terms as what was then known as a juvenile delinquent, masturbation was regarded as a sin.
Brother Frederick then started to fondle his penis, he said.
“I just stood there – I should have done something,” the man said, his voice again breaking.
Brother Frederick then used his other hand to take his own penis out from under his cassock, the man said.
“He grabbed my right hand and pulled me toward him. I pulled away.”
Asked by the defence lawyer why he had not reported the incident, the man said he felt that reporting a Brother would be like reporting a police officer.
The trial continues today.