I think I am out of the woods, or at least on the edge 🙂 Email to cornwall@theinquiry.ca is coming through. After another round of headaches today I now have my two email boxes configured and operational on my new desktop computer.
I have conlcuded that while Windows 7 may be better than Vista it brings its own share of headaches, not the least of which is the fact that it dropped Outlook Express which I used for my blog and website emails. But, life is looking better for me. I think the worst is over, and certainly the problem of accessing me via email was resolved once I stopped the automatic back-ups of Sylvia’s Site.
I decided I can’t let the day come to a close without feeling that I’ve accomplished at least one or two of the many things I have lined up to post on the site. All the techincal dithering is necessary, but it seems like such a terrible waste of time and energy.
So, I have a couple of pages which have been sitting waiting to be scanned and posted for some time. Here they are, with brief comment on each:
(1) November 2000: New Apostolic School for Canada! (from Legionaries of Christ magazine LeCristo)
Some may recall that Bishop Eugene Larocque, the former bishop of Alexandria-Cornwall, invited the Legionaries into the Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall. This little news piece proclaims the founding of the Legionaries first apostolic school(high school) in Canada, right in Cornwall, Ontario.
By now most people have heard of the sex abuse scandal involving Marcial Maciel, the Legionaries founder. Word of the Maciel’s perversions first became public back in 1997. It is only this year that Legionaries are acknowledging the truth of the sex abuse allegations. For years those who spoke of the allegations against the founder were publicly vilified and ridiculed. (Yes, that old familiar shoot the messenger tactic)
All that seems to have come to an end. The question now is what is to become of the order? Will it continue to carry the name “Legionaries of Christ”, an order founded by a depraved man who molested young boys and young men, lied to and impregnated a young woman and molested his own son? Will those within the Legionaries who protected Maciel, covered-up for his sins and crimes, and wilfully put youth at risk be given the boot?
All await the decision.
I personally can not conceive an order founded by a sexual predator. If ever there was an oxymoron that is it. What a contradiction!
I believe the Legionaries must be disbanded. Those who are found to be complict in any way shape or form must be laicized. Those priests and seminarians who are screened through could then seek a new order to give them a home, or they could seek a bishop who would take them into the diocese as a diocesan priest, or they could leave the priesthood. I suppose a new order with new superiors could rise from the ashes. I have qualms about that. I would guess that not every priest in the Legionaries is a Maciel (read sexual predator), but I honesly admit that I have concerns as to how Maciel selected his seminarians. Take it from there.
Note too another article I posted yesterday: 14 June 2010: Scandals may dent wealthy Catholic order’s funding
It never ceases to amaze me that regardless of the confirmation of the scandal some people keep digging deep into their pockets to support the sheer opulence characteristic of so many Legionaries facilities. It looks like funds may be drying up, but seems there is still a lot of many flowing.
(2) 27 July 1970: Father Dale Crampton leaving for Malawi C. Africa (Pastoral Monthly, July-August 1970, Vol. 6)
I came across this when I was relocating my filing cabinets.
I don’t know how long Father Dale Crampton was in Malawi and Zambia ‘teaching.” The 1973-74 Catholic Directory of Canada shows him as pastor at St. Philip’s in Richmond. That would mean he was off in Africa for maybe a year? Or maybe just a summer course?
Another interesting little tid bit of information: according to the1968-69 directory, Crampton was serving on the diocesan tribunal with fellow canon lawyer – and as we now know, molester – Father Bernard Prince!
Later Crampton served with, amongst others, Prince, AND Father John Beahen(Beahen went on to become an auxiliary bishop of Ottawa. He covered up for Crampton. Beahen died before facing charges of sexual abuse of young boys himself)
Anyway, I did want to get those up, and there they are.
Today I will get back at getting new information up on the website. I have more information to get up re Father Lorne Whalen – I will get back to that some time this week. I also want to free myself up to do some checking on several priests. And I still need to get my blog changed and the search engine fixed 🙁 Bit by by bit it will get done. Meanwhile, if you have any information on a priest charged, sued or accused whose name is not on the Accused list please pass it along with background inforamtion and/or scans of any clippings you have on hand.
Enough for now
Sylvia
(contact me at cornwall@theinquiry.ca)