Catholic order knew of alleged abuse: document

CBC News 

Last Updated: Wednesday, September 29, 2010 | 11:49 PM ET

CBC News

A Roman Catholic order in Quebec was aware of allegations of sexual abuse by brothers in the religious group, according to evidence discovered by Radio-Canada.

A nine-page document, written by a long-term member of the Order of Holy Cross, chronicles specific allegations of abuse over the years at Montreal’s College Notre Dame. The document lists a dozen Holy Cross brothers from various institutions.

It also outlines how alleged abusers at the order’s flagship private school were not reported to the police and instead were allowed to stay on as teachers or support staff.

The document said in at least one case, the college paid $250,000 to buy the silence of a family that complained.

Wilson Kennedy, a former member of the religious order, told Radio-Canada in an exclusive interview that while he was with the order he spoke to a Vatican official about the problem.

“Rome was informed and the Superior General asked me for clarification on several cases,” Kennedy said.

He said there was a culture of silence that protected alleged abusers.

“You protect a group. Was it wrong? Yeah, it was wrong,” Kennedy said.

The Order of Holy Cross was responsible for the care and education of thousands of Quebecers over the years. It ran institutions for people with handicaps, halfway houses and private colleges in Montreal and other areas of the province.

Allegations of abuse at College Notre Dame began to surface a couple of years ago. The college is right across the street from the iconic St. Joseph’s Oratory, which was also built by the Order of Holy Cross.

A family has launched a lawsuit against the order and formed a support group.

The order said it won’t comment while the case is still before the courts, but it did issue a statement saying it vigorously condemns all forms of misconduct.

With files from Nancy Wood

RougeQ wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 11:26 AM ETI sure hope that the Globe and Mail add this story to the directory there. At least people can enjoy and open and frank discussion on the G&M where censorship is minimal.

twilight2 wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 10:45 AM ETI just love the way these church members use of the words, ” condemns”, ”
misconduct”, you would think they are talking about stealing money from a collection plate!

These are acts of [ rape, molestation, abuse, mental and sexual , beatings} you name it these SOB”S have done it and it has been covered up since the beginning of time, right from the pope to the lowliest of priests……

Where are the cops and why have these creeps not been arrested for rape and abuse, enough of this BS. coming from this church, get down to the business of arresting these criminals and then proceed to shut the door of this monstrous organization!

voice56 wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 10:30 AM ETgrammargeek wrote:Posted 2010/09/30 at 8:41 AM ET
It seems that the censors are working pretty hard here this morning. I’ve posted two comments so far.
——————-

Well, you got me beat.
Apparently there’s something ‘sacrilegious’ in my comment about the vatican being put in the position of having to pull apologies out of the air every week, is like Bullwinkle saying he’s going to pull a rabbit out of his hat, and he keeps getting a rhinoceros.

Must be that ‘professional impartiality’ hard at work.

Jim Royal wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 10:21 AM ETIt’s only a matter of time before the replacement rate for Catholic priests drops to zero, and the whole thing collapses from benign neglect. The Vatican will renamed the European Museum of Roman Catholicism. And on that day, the word will be a better place.

angysdad wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 10:01 AM ETmisstherain wrote…’How long until it all falls apart, and Atheism or non-religion reigns supreme?’

Hopefully soon!
have a good day

Dennis Brady wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 11:28 AM ETtwilight2 wrote:
Where are the cops and why have these creeps not been arrested for rape and abuse, enough of this BS. coming from this church, get down to the business of arresting these criminals and then proceed to shut the door of this monstrous organization!
___________________

Decency and justice demand the Pope be prosecuted.

RougeQ wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 11:26 AM ETI sure hope that the Globe and Mail add this story to the directory there. At least people can enjoy and open and frank discussion on the G&M where censorship is minimal.

AS IT IS wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 11:20 AM ETWell my first post never made it …..So I will change it somewhat.

CHECK YOUR HISTORY …LUTHER left the church because they were more concerned about money and buildings ……HE failed to mention ONE other reason …….

Boopadoop wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 11:14 AM ETJJDenis Robert:

I have to disagree with you.
Please see http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/readings/church.htm

alibell wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 11:14 AM ETreally??? they KNEW???? what a shocker!

Oh wait, it’s not a shock. We all know very well (all too well now) that the Catholic Church has been covering this disgusting adbuse for, well, since preists were no longer allowed to marry.

All they do is ‘confess’ and then they get transferred to a new place where they can start abusing children all over again.

It’s disgusting and the fact that these abusers are not locked up with the key thrown away is a slap in the face to all those who were abused, and all of us who are watching from the sidelines.

It’s sick and it just goes to show you how corrupt the Church is — how people still manage to pledge themselves to this faith i just can’t understand. It truly shows the power of brainwashing.

Dennis Brady wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 11:05 AM ETHow many of these stories will we tolerate before demanding this criminal organization be shut down?

When will our government accept its responsibility to prosecute all that participated in the cover ups?

twilight2 wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 10:45 AM ETI just love the way these church members use of the words, ” condemns”, ”
misconduct”, you would think they are talking about stealing money from a collection plate!

These are acts of [ rape, molestation, abuse, mental and sexual , beatings} you name it these SOB”S have done it and it has been covered up since the beginning of time, right from the pope to the lowliest of priests……

Where are the cops and why have these creeps not been arrested for rape and abuse, enough of this BS. coming from this church, get down to the business of arresting these criminals and then proceed to shut the door of this monstrous organization!

voice56 wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 10:30 AM ETgrammargeek wrote:Posted 2010/09/30 at 8:41 AM ET
It seems that the censors are working pretty hard here this morning. I’ve posted two comments so far.
——————-

Well, you got me beat.
Apparently there’s something ‘sacrilegious’ in my comment about the vatican being put in the position of having to pull apologies out of the air every week, is like Bullwinkle saying he’s going to pull a rabbit out of his hat, and he keeps getting a rhinoceros.

Must be that ‘professional impartiality’ hard at work.

Jim Royal wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 10:21 AM ETIt’s only a matter of time before the replacement rate for Catholic priests drops to zero, and the whole thing collapses from benign neglect. The Vatican will renamed the European Museum of Roman Catholicism. And on that day, the word will be a better place.

angysdad wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 10:01 AM ETmisstherain wrote…’How long until it all falls apart, and Atheism or non-religion reigns supreme?’

Hopefully soon!
have a good day

AmazedinNL wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 9:56 AM ETThis sort of thing begs the question…

Will this change if Catholic priests are finally permitted to marry? Do these men become pedophiles AFTER they are ordained, or are they just attracted to the positions for easy prey….?

misstherain wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 9:35 AM ETHow long until it all falls apart, and Atheism or non-religion reigns supreme?

Nitrogen1 wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 9:34 AM ETUnGodly sinners!

cybert08 wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 9:30 AM ETAs A “retired” catholic, I have seen the culture of silence. As an alter boy I saw drunken priests, holding mass and sadistic priests head locking and punching young boys (supposedly, in fun). Fortunately I was never sexually abused (my family where lawyers and founders of the city).
Most priests were good and caring people (including a Lithuanian priest who was shot several times ,smuggling Jewish and Gypsy children out of Nazi Lithuania).
The church is to blame, they foster unquestioning faith. Any questioning is seen as a lack of belief. The Catholic church has centuries of tradition of keeping lovers (male and female) and children for their sexual needs. (The unfortunate victims were then branded as “sodomites” and “whores” with the children as” bastards”‘).
What am I saying? The church has broken it’s own commandments, lied about it, condemned the victims and then sort of apologized, how can they expect absolute faith, after such bad behavior and lack of obedience to their own laws? Jesus would be ashamed.

WhiteLakeDan wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 9:25 AM ETAgain? Question is, how many more cases are hidden, silenced, or hushed?

b.c. terry wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 9:19 AM ETAgain this all comes down to catholics, and whether or not they have the courage to do the right thing.
Clean house, from TOP to bottom, get rid of EVERYONE who is guilty of sexual abuse, or the COVER UP, and that means putting the boot to the pope to start with, and work your way down from there.

grammargeek wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 9:10 AM ETJason Walter,

I think perhaps your comment was censored for the same reason as my first two.

We dared tell the truth about the Catholic church. And mine WAS the truth, from a personal perspective, and actually KNOWING one of these child molesters (shiver).

RougeQ wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 9:10 AM ETWhere is my carefully worded post? I am one of the few people here that protested Ratzinger in London on September 18th.

James On Bass wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 8:59 AM ETInoYou wrote: The Pope however he is protected because he cannot sin in his own personal life, and he is necessarily free of error, whenever speaking in his official capacity. Deal with it!

Better check Canon Law, becasue he isn’t. he is only infalable when he speaks about church doctrine and makes an official pronouncement. But being inafalable doesn’t mean that he is error free, it just means we Catholics, still known as the Simple Faithful in Benedict’s view, should not question.

I have some bad news for him, Vatican II let pandora out of the box, the scandals have made the “Simple Faithful” wake up, and there’s no way he’s going to be able to put pandora back in the box.

jjgdenisrobert wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 8:58 AM ET@telsat97: You have a pretty weak grasp of history, my friend. When the French landed, they were no more Catholic than most brits were Anglican, and possibly less. If you took a quick look at the bawdy and anti-clerical songs we used to sing, you’d know that. Most French would go to Church only a few times in their lives: Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals, pretty much.

It’s only AFTER the conquest that the Church established became the dictatorial institution it became in Quebec. Not that it didn’t try before, but there were competing elites which prevented it from achieving its goals. But once the English were in power, there were no other alternatives left for the French. The secular authorities all spoke a language few of us could understand, let alone speak. So the Church used its position as go-between to tighten its grip on Quebec society, and did so under the very grateful guidance of the English masters.

This lasted until the Duplessis era, when Quebec lived under a fascist regime within a nominal democracy. Note that although Duplessis was a great admirer of Mussolini and HItler, it seems the Anglos were quite happy with having him there keeping the French in their place. Hey, as long as it wasn’t them who were stuck with the Fascists! But once he died, Quebec revolted: the Church was kicked out of its position of power, and the modern secular Quebec was born.

Read a bit, you might learn something.

___________________

WhiteLakeDan wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 8:57 AM ETJesus’ instructions were not clear enough, apparently. Oh but wait. They can always blame it on the devil. Right? Now THAT’s convenience!

___________________

BB KIng wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 8:53 AM ETWhat gets me is the religion freaks out there that are going to turn a blind eye on this crime,and act as if nothing is going on in there perfect little religion world.
Put there heads in the sand but once again……………..shame on them.

___________________

Jason Walter wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 8:53 AM ETI know many Catholics personally and they’re genuinely good people.

I don’t understand how they let this crooked infrastructure come between them and their god.

___________________

Jason Walter wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 8:51 AM ETOK, my last comment was censored, I don’t quite understand why.

Here’s my point…
I find it funny that the Catholic Church, which has long considered itself to be the arbiter of acceptable social behaviour in much of the Western world would turn out to be (to go on the evidence of the last 24 months alone) secretive, self-serving and rife with evil deeds from the top.

How about from now on, we reject any sound bites from Catholic officials weighing in on social issues. At least until they get their house in order? I’m not holding my breath.

___________________

grammargeek wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 8:41 AM ETIt seems that the censors are working pretty hard here this morning. I’ve posted two comments so far.

The first was my scathing assessment of the Catholic church with regard to this issue, and addressed to InoYou.

The second was to chide CBC for not printing the first.

Let’s see if this one makes it.

___________________
Nomad_Jen wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 8:38 AM ETSo why is this group not being persecuted/charged with a crime.

Is/was it not a crime to not report these abuses? When was Duty to report legislation enacted?

___________________

telsat97 wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 7:54 AM ETThe same outfit that were the bosses of the French from their first step on North American soil. Basically damaged the entity for life. And they still cling to it. All of the blame for the french failure was directed from them to the English.

___________________

BJoshua wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 7:44 AM ET”the college paid $250,000 to buy the silence of a family that complained.”

No amount of money offered would silence me if that were my kid. I wouldn’t rest until those responsible were punished.

___________________

Bard29 wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 7:25 AM ETGiven the growing evidence that the church has systematically hidden sexual abuse committed by priests, one is left to wonder how far back it goes. Has it been going on for hundreds of years rather than a few decades? If so, how does this affect our interpretation of history?

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comment online wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 7:00 AM ETyou are damn right they did….they must be punished !

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comment online wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 7:00 AM ETyou are damn right they did….they must be punished !

___________________

InoYou wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 6:25 AM ETWe all got child molester uncles, cops, family friends,etc,…so why not a priest? The kiddie fiddler lurking in the dark is a myth perpetuated by the police to draw attention away from their own poor public image. The Pope however he is protected because he cannot sin in his own personal life, and he is necessarily free of error, whenever speaking in his official capacity. Deal with it!

___________________

angysdad wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 6:19 AM ET’The order said…it vigorously condemns all forms of misconduct.’

It threatens the victims, protects the guilty, but it claims to ‘condemn’ the misconduct???

‘Rome was informed…’

That means Ratzinger. Arrest the pope if he ever sets foot on Canadian soil.

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Mighty-Thor wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 4:36 AM ETIt rarely seems more than a few days go by without new allegations somewhere in the world and the church and pope not ‘knowing’ is bull…There seems to be so much of it…

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EmpsonSeven wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 3:35 AM ETYawn.

I have full confidence that the Government of Canada will treat this latest allegation with the same zealous prosecution as other western jurisdictions.

I’m kidding…they will treat it just the same way other western jurisdictions have treated these Shockers.

…and NO!, nobody thinks that ALL Catholics support abhorrent behaviour by their Church. They just tend to think that Catholics’ pay the legal bills of pederasts and want to further their shared Catholic values on the rest of society.

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Joshua Slocum wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 12:55 AM ET

Shame on all of you!!

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CaptainKangeroo wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 12:08 AM ET

This brotherhood of silence in so many institutions should be abolished. Time for truth and true justice. Whisle blowers should be praised and rewarded.

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dicky_barret wrote:Posted 2010/09/30
at 12:01 AM ETReligion.