Gary Emile Roy
Priest, Diocese of London, Ontario. Ordained 1975. 1996 charged. 1998 GUILTY plea to two counts indecent assault of young boys – sentenced to four months. Died 2001.
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Bishops of London Diocese from time of Father Gary Roy’s ordination to death: Gerald Emmett Carter (17 February 1964 – 29 April 1978 -Appointed, Archbishop of Toronto, Ontario) John Michael Sherlock (7 July 1978 – 27 April 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 — 24 Mar 1995); Richard John Grecco (5 December 1997 – 27 April 2002)
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The following information is drawn from Canadian Catholic Church Directories (CCCD) which I have on hand and media (M)
19 June 2001: died (St. Peter’s Seminary Necrology http://www.stpetersseminary.ca/alumni/necrology/)
2000, 1999: address in Lucan, Ontario (RR #3, Hwy 7 West) – not that of St. Patrick’s Church
February, 1998: Father Gary Roy pleads guilty to 2 counts of indecent assault against boys. He is sentenced to four months in jail and given three years’ probation. http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/goodfather/timeline.html
1997: address c/o Diocese of London Diocesan Centre (CCCD)
August 1996: charged (M)
Pastor, Saint Joseph Roman Catholic Church, Corunna, Ontario (CCCD)
diocese said he has been on Leave of Absence since January 1996 (M)
1995: Pastor, Saint Joseph Roman Catholic Church, Corunna, Ontario (CCCD)
1994: Pastor, Saint Jean Brebeuf and Companions, Kingsville, Ontario (CCCD)
1993, 1992, 1991: Pastor, Saint Joseph Roman Catholic Church, Killam, Alberta, with missions at Saint Joseph in Hardisty, Our Lady of Fatima in Strone, Saint Donatus in Galahead and St. Agnes in Alliance, Alberta (CCCD) (Killam is in the Archdiocese of Edmonton, Alberta) (what was he doing in the Archdiocese of Edmonton?) (I have been told by a reliable source that Fathers Roy and Robert Morrissey 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)
1985-1986: Pastor, Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church, Parkhill, Ontario (CCCD)
1980: address for Our Lady of Mercy, Sarnia, Ontario (Pastor Father H. Laragh. Also in residence Msgr. J.A. Rooney) (OCD)
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Ont. diocese mulls request to defrock 8 pedophile priests
Edmonton Journal
20 August 2001
LONDON, Ont. – In an unprecedented move, the London Diocese in Ontario will consider asking theVaticanto defrock all eight of its convicted pedophile priests.
The statement came Friday on the heels of a press conference by London law firm Ledroit Beckett demanding the diocese defrock priests Barry Glendinning, Konnie Przybylski and John Harper, the latter having taken boys on weekend getaways to his parents’ Windsor home.
In the past two decades, eight London Diocese priests have been convicted of sex crimes against children. The others are Charles Sylvestre, Gary Roy, Cameron MacLean, Robert Morrisey and Richard Boll.
Bishop Ronald Fabbro said this month he would ask theVaticanto laicize, or defrock, Sylvestre, 83, who was wearing his collar this month when he confessed to sexually abusing 47 young girls over four decades.
Diocese spokesman Ron Pickersgill pointed out the diocese is only examining the other cases, and isn’t actually requesting that any priest but Sylvestre be defrocked.
But even that is unheard of inCanada, he said. Pickersgill said there have been some “notorious” cases in theU.S., but this will be the first time a Canadian diocese has sought to defrock a priest convicted of sex crimes.
“It is an extremely rare, extremely serious move,” he said.
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Movement to defrock priests
National Post
19 August 2006
Trevor Wilhelm
LONDON, Ont. – In an unprecedented move, the London Diocese in Ontario will consider asking theVaticanto defrock all eight of its convicted pedophile priests.
The statement came yesterday on the heels of a news conference by London law firm Ledroit Beckett demanding the diocese defrock priests Barry Glendinning, Konnie Przybylski and John Harper, the latter having taken boys on weekend getaways to his parents’ Windsor home.
In the past two decades, eight London Diocese priests have been convicted of sex crimes against children. The others are Charles Sylvestre, Gary Roy, Cameron MacLean, Robert Morrisey and Richard Boll.
“Bishop Fabbro is already reviewing other cases to see whether he should seek the laicization of other convicted priests,” the diocese said in a written statement. “This action does not require a request from the individuals harmed by these men, but such a request would be appropriate.”
Bishop Ronald Fabbro said this month he would ask theVaticanto laicize, or defrock, Sylvestre, 83, who was wearing his collar this month when he confessed to sexually abusing 47 young girls over four decades.
Ledroit Beckett lawyer Rob Talach said that when the victims of other priests heard that, they demanded the same fate for the priests who had attacked them.
“A priest is a priest for life,” Mr. Talach said. “Whether retired or relegated to [an] administrative post, these men still operate within an environment where they have great authority, unquestioned respect and potential access to vulnerable young people. There is no rational reason why convicted sex offenders should be able to retain the prestige, authority and powers which the vocation of priesthood provides.”
Four victims, all clients of Ledroit Beckett, spoke out against their abusers yesterday.
Glendinning was convicted in 1974 of six counts of gross indecency against six children. He was put on probation and within the same year was sent to St. Claire ofAssisiin Windsor, Ont., as an assistant pastor. Complaints about him there led to his transfer toEdmonton, where further complaints resulted in his transfer toToronto.
Przybylski was convicted two months ago of sexual assault and sexual exploitation of two altar boys in Port Dover, Ont., from the mid-1990s until 2000. Mr. Talach said that after a complaint was made about him in 2000, he was moved to aLondonparish.
Harper was convicted in 1988, and again in 2003, of sexually abusing boys at an Aylmer, Ont., parish and at Regina Mundi College inLondon.
Harper took boys to his parents’ house in Windsor and abused them there, said victim Don Bannon.
“It was just sexual abuse,” said Mr. Bannon, 57. “We slept in the same bed. The defrocking is a starting point. They’re finally starting to do something. They’ve done nothing in the last 40 or 50 years. What Bishop Fabbro is doing now should have been done back then. It’s a start.”
Diocese spokesman Ron Pickersgill pointed out the diocese is only examining the other cases and isn’t actually requesting that any priest but Sylvestre be defrocked.
But even that is unheard of in Canada, he said. Mr. Pickersgill said there have been some “notorious” cases in the United States, but this will be the first time a Canadian diocese has sought to defrock a priest convicted of sex crimes.
“It is an extremely rare, extremely serious move,” he said.
Mr. Pickersgill said the bishop hasn’t officially set a new direction for the Church, but added Bishop Fabbro seems to be meeting the issues more directly than others have in the past.
“We are experiencing things are being done differently,” Mr. Pickersgill said. “He’s letting his statements and actions speak for themselves.”
Irene Deschenes, 44, one of Sylvestre’s victims from Chatham, Ont., wasn’t optimistic.
She said the Church is only asking that Sylvestre lose his collar because he had so many victims and his crimes have grabbed such a public spotlight.
“How many victims are enough?” she asked. “What is the diocese standard? The only reason Bishop Fabbro is starting the process to defrock Sylvestre is because his back is up against the wall. After 47 guilty pleas, I’m sure there has been pressure put on him to say, ‘Whoa, look at all these women. This is wrong. We can’t have him in our ranks.’ ”
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Ontario: Police charge priest with indecent assault
Kingston Whig-Standard
23 August 1996
A Roman Catholic priest was arrested and charged with two counts of indecent assault Wednesday for incidents involving two men. Provincial police in Chatham said the alleged assaults occurred between 1981 and 1983 in the Sarnia area. Police said the two victims were 15 and 18 at the time. Rev. Gary Emile Roy, 51, will appear in Sarnia court Sept. 16.
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Catholic priest charged
Canadian Press
22 August 1996
LONDON, Ont. (CP)
A Roman Catholic priest was arrested and charged with two counts of indecent assault Wednesday for incidents involving two men.
Provincial police in Chatham said the alleged assaults occurred between 1981 and 1983 in the Sarnia area. Police said the two victims were 15 and 18 at the time.
Rev. Gary Emile Roy, 51, will appear in Sarnia court Sept. 16.
The diocese of London said in a news release Wednesday that Roy has been on a leave of absence since Jan. 1.
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A note of interest here. I am told by a reliable source that that Fathers Robert Morrissey and Gary Roy headed West to the Archdiocese of Edmonton at the same time, the exact year of departure is presently unknown. They are listed in Edmonton Archdiocese in the 1991 directory so there is a good chance they were there at least by late 1990. The pair were good friends, so much so that Roy had named his cat Morrissey.
Why, I can not help but wonder, were the pair swooshed off in tandem to serve in the Archdiocese of Edmonton? Morrissey was charged in late 1991, but those charges stemmed from his years as a Christian Brother (Brother Frederick). Were the allegations against the pair in the London Diocese? or, was Edmonton’s Archbishop Joseph McNeil just in dire need of priests?
Is this the same priest that taught at St Patricks high school in Sarnia in the early 80′s? The timeline fits. I was a student there and young and innocent. I do remember he would take the boys into his office and lock the door after him. There was a lot of rumours and sometimes open accusations but the other teachers and the nuns would hush them up.
It probably is the same priest Kammy. I can find only one Gary Roy in the London Diocese in those years. I have nothing which confirms that he taught at St. Patrick’s, but he was in Sarnia in or around 1980.
Can anyone confirm that the Father Gary Roy who entered a guilty plea also taught at St. Patrick’s high school in Sarnia in the early 80s?
Interesting! I’m just reading your post from October, Sylvia. McCann was in Edmonton from 1984-1990. Was it the same bishop who provided safe haven for him?
It was indeed the same bishop Leona: McNeil was Archbishop of Edmonton from July 1973 to June 1999.
Did Father Gary Roy graduate from Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit?
I don’t what seminary Father Roy attended Michael. Does anyone in the Windsor area or Diocese of London know?