Future of archdiocese in question with civil suits still pending
Posted: May 24, 2014 1:29 PM ATLast Updated: May 24, 2014 1:29 PM AT
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Moncton has completed a two-year process to compensate victims of sexual abuse.
‘Hopefully we’ll be able to manage.’– Archbishop Valéry Vienneau’
Former Supreme Court of Canada justice Michel Bastarache was hired by the archdiocese to oversee the matter.
Victims dealt with Bastarache confidentially and he awarded financial compensation depending on the severity of assaults, the age of the victim and the duration of abuse.
As of last September, 90 victims had come forward and payments amounted to nearly $5 million.
Archbishop Valéry Vienneau says that number has gone up, and final figures will only be released once civil suits against the archdiocese are also settled.
Former Supreme Court of Canada justice Michel Bastarache was hired by the Archdiocese of Moncton to oversee compensation of sexual assault victims. (CBC)
In order to compensate victims, cuts to staff were made and the diocesan office is up for sale, he says.
With civil suits still pending, Vienneau is unsure how the archdiocese will fare in the future.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to manage,” he says.
“It’s quite difficult to say because some settlements can be of very low numbers and others can be of high numbers depending on what happened to the victim and on the impact on the victim and all of these things. So it is difficult for me to try to estimate that at this point.”
Vienneau says the civil suits against the archdiocese could take years to settle.
90 + victims. Surely someone in the archdiocese of Moncton knows the number of victims who have come forward?
What I am looking for and do not see hide nor hair of, is this: how many priests have been identified as molesters? and how many are still alive? and how many are still priests? and what has been done to reach out to other victims of those preying priests?
I would suggest that as many victims and supporters as possible write our “dear Pope Francis” and demand a registry of pedophile priests and their whereabouts, plus any other concerns you need to address. Send your Bishop a copy. Register the letter – the address is:
His Holiness Pope Francis
Vatican City State, 00120.