I have posted three new articles/ on the Monsignor Robert Borne page. Two are from the Eganivlle Leader – excellent and informative recaps of the testimony and conviction of Borne:
30 November 2011: Robert Borne testifies he did grope a teenage boy but maintains he is not gay
30 November 2011: Robert Borne convicted of indecent assault
The third, from last week’s Eganville Leader, is a Letter to the Editor by Al Donahue. You will recognize it. It is the same letter word for word which ran in the Pembroke Daily Observer. I posted it regardless:
07 December 2011: Forgive Us Our Trespasses
It gets no better on a second read. In fact, I think I am going to do a quick para-by-par comment to address the more outrageous points which stick out like sore thumbs.
*****
Some information from the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie regarding Father Leo Campbell csb and convicted Basilian child molester Father William Hodgson Marshall. The information comes from the memories and observations of a reliable a reliable source,.
When both Cambell and Marshall taught at St. Mary’s College in Sault Ste Marie they, along with other Basilians, lived in the adjacent Basilian residence, Crawley Hall. Between the late 70s and mid 80s both Campbell and Marshall were there together for a time.
In all there would have been about 7 Basilians in the residence.
The dining room in Crawley Hall was large. There were 10 long tables, each capable of seating around 20. It actually wold have been a refectory. Despite the size of the dining room, meals were generally served for the 7 priest in residence only. Women came in on weekdays to cook breakfast, lunch and supper. Some had assistants. On the weekends the priests fended for themselves in the kitchen.
Sometimes a local priest or visiting priest would join the Basilians for supper in Crawley Hall. Father Francis Reid was there fairly often.
Three times a year Bishop Alexander Carter and all the priests in the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie joined the Basilians for a meal in large dining room. Those were big occasions, with one such annual meal held at Christmas, and another at Easter. There is uncertainty as to precisely when the third yearly dinner was held – possibly around Thanksgiving? And yes, of course wine and alcohol accompanied and was enjoyed with the meal.
One source who assisted in the kitchen recalls Father Hod Marshall as very touchy feely. Marshall used to show up in the kitchen after meals to thank everyone in the kitchen for the meal, and impart hugs.
Marshall also would assist in clean up – picking up his plate and cutlery and delivering them to the kitchen. Then thank you’s and hugs and the touchy stuff. Despite his gracious manner he was described as kid of creepy – females didn’t really like to be around him. In fact, I am told that older women who cooked meals kept an eye out for the younger females in the kitchen when he was around: Young girls were never left alone in the kitchen in Hod’s company. The caution wasn’t totally understood then.
Father Walker, the superior, apparently checked into the kitchen regularly after Hod’s little forays in and out. In fact, the feeling, right or wrong, was that Father Walker was always checking up on Marshall.
Father Walker, by the way, was described as a very nice man, but, with a violent temper. He once, for example, picked up and threw an ashtray at one of his fellow Basilians who had annoyed him for some reason or other. But, temper aside, he was a pleasant man.
Father Leo Campbell, on the other hand, was described as very rude. I was told that he was ignorant to women, impolite to and dismissive of the female cook and treated all the kitchen staff as servants.
Campbell apparently rarely picked up his dishes, and if he did he virtually tossed them through a small window which opened between the kitchen and dining room. He never thanked the cook or staff.
It was not uncommon for Campbell to be surrounded by boys, and questions crossed the minds of a few in those days as to what the heck he was doing taking boys off camping all the time.
Campbell, Marshall and a Father O’Reilly (Edward?) were viewed as being fairly close friends who “hung out together.”
It was common knowledge that O’Reilly had marijuana plants growing around Crawley Hall. There was a pot plant in the TV room. There was another in the dining room. And another in the hall. Who knows where else? And, O’Reilly smoked pot daily – the smell wafted throughout the main floor..
There was a Father Meaghan (sp?) who was described as really nice man who, unfortunately, suffered from narcolepsy. It was not uncommon for the priest to nod off in the midst of a meal, or a class.
I mentioned above that Father Francis Reed used to join the Basilians for supper. Reed taught at Mount St. Joseph’s, an all girls school. I have just started adding information on Reed. There was an out-of-court settlement regarding allegations of sex assault of a teenage girl. The settlement came after Elizabeth McKenna, his victim, was grilled on the stand for 20 days! 20 days!!!.
Anyway, the word is that a lot of the girls at Mount St. Joseph steered clear of Reed. And, the word is that there was a lot of sexual abuse at the school.
And, a final interesting little tid bit.
Sometime in the 90s, date uncertain, Hod Marshall was showing up at businesses in the Soo looking for donations to the missions in St. Lucia. It sounds as thought Hod was in the throes of getting ready to embark on his missionary work on the island.
Hod arrived at one business and tendered his request. A woman he had known in the early 80s as a young girl was working at the business. She came into the foyer, recognized Hod and said something to the effect of “Well, hello Father.” Hod apparently blanched instantly – “he turned as white as a ghost.”
In a flash, Hod had turned on his heel and was gone! No one knows why. All who witnessed the spectacle were shocked and trying to sort out what happened. Why the hasty departure? To this day no one knows. Did he think that perhaps he had molested this woman? Did he think she knew something? Barring Hod giving an explanation, we will never known.
I have a picture from those days which I will post later. Father Hod Marshall is in it, but not Leo Campbell. I have to redact someone – will get at it later.
*****
Some of you may recall an article I posted last year about 48-year-old Keith Brennan’s testimony at the New Jersey Senate Committee hearing.
13 December 2010: Bayonne man testifies about sex abuse at Jersey City church
Keith was molested as a child by two males at his Church: Keith Peckler, the young (late teems!) music director at the parish, and Thomas Stanford, then a deacon.
Peckler and Stanfrod both went on to be ordained as Roman Catholic priests.
Because of the states Statute of Limitations, Brennan can not bring these men to justice – he is now fighting to have the Statute of Limitations changed, first in New Jersey, and then across the States.
I often remind myself that as bad as things can be here inCanada, at least there is no Statute of limitations on sex abuse: If an alleged molester is still alive when a complainants comes forward, charges can be laid. I know that some of our Canadian judges would like to see a Statute of Limitations, but, for now, a victim can report to police 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 years after his/her abuse. We will have to sure that it stays that way. As we all know only too well it takes years, decades, for victims to summon the courage to speak out and pursue justice.
However, in many of the States, and in numerous countries throughoutEurope, a Statute of Limitations allows child molesters to elude justice. Because that is the law, there is nothing that be done. Child molesters roam freely because they can not be brought to justice.
Stanford, for unknown reasons, left the priesthood in the mid 80s.
Peckler, on the other hand, enjoys repute as a prominent Jesuit scholar and professor of liturgy at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
And Keith Brennan, God bless him, is fighting to change the law so that men such as these two can be charged and brought to justice. It’s a good battle and well worth the fight.
Good for you Keith!
There is a short film on this site about Brennan, and his dream of some day hanging himself from the church steeple. Please take a few minutes to read and watch.
Brennan will be taping a show this week which will air on PBS “One on One” with Steve Adubato sometime in January 2012. When I hear more I will pass it along.
I think we will be hearing more of Keith’s well-chosen battle in the years to come. Keep him in your prayers. This will not be an easy battle to fight or win. The Statute of Limitations serves many all too well.
*****
I was checking last week to find out where Oblate priest Father Eric Dejaeger is being held while he is in Edmonton answering to his Edmonton child sex abuse charges. I concluded that it has to be the Edmonton Remand Centre. There is no where else for him to be!
I called the centre hoping to find out if Dejeager is being held in protective custody while he is there. I was curious.
Well, the centre can not confirm that Dejaeger is there in the first place! It’s a privacy issue!!! I spoke to a very pleasant young man, but he could neither confirm nor deny Dejaeger’s presence at the centre.
I did find out that the remand centre does not routinely place inmates facing charges of child sex abuse in protective custody –such decisions are made on a case by case basis.
So, chances are high that Dejaeger is nestled away somewhere in the Edmonton Remand Centre. Whether or not he is in protective custody is unknown. Ditto whether or not the facilities in Edmonton trump those in Iqaluit.
His next court appearance in Edmonton is 20 December 2011. Will it be Christmas in the Baffin Correctional Centre in Iqaluit, Nunavut? or Christmas in the Edmonton Remand Centre?
We shall see.
Enough for now,
Sylvia
Wow – what a long, informative and accurate tale of the Basilian’s residence at St. Mary’s. I was in that dining room in the early 80s, mere steps from the “Bishop’s Suite” where Hod Marshall molested me.
When I came forward with charges I was very hopeful that some of his victims from Sault Ste. Marie would do the same. I never had to wonder if there were any for after he left my bed I heard him down the hall with another boy from St. Mary’s. One child in an evening was never enough for Hod Marshall if more was available.
Charges came from Windsor, Toronto, and Sudbury but not the Sault. I still wonder why and still hold out hope that some of his victims may yet feel ready to speak their truth. There is still so much to be exposed about this man. He was convicted of assaulting 17. Imagine how many he actually assaulted over 50 years, 8 (at least) different schools, and 3 different countries, with an untold numbers of fellow Basilians protecting, enabling, or even joining in his actions. The man would molest one boy then go directly and assault another. Do the math … and weep.
To the victims of Hod Marshall: You, WE, are not alone.
I had a chill running don my spine when I read your post Patrick. Yes, you were there! God love you, you unfortunately were there.
I’m not sure about the pot plants, but, I can say with 100% certainty that the smell emanating from Father O’Reilly in the hallways of St. Mary’s College was the smell of Amphora Brown, the pipe tobacco that he smoked. I know that for a fact because he would sometimes call us (we owned a variety store), and ask us to bring it for him in the mornings.
And thankfully, he would smoke his pipe in classroom. Sometimes that was the only thing that would cover up the smell of Campbell’s armpits. Anyone that went to St. Mary’s and had classes in the portables would I’m sure remember the permanent smell of Campbell. It was really disgusting.
I’ve mentioned in a previous reply how everyone knew there was something going on with Campbell. I never got that sense with O’Reilly. Never saw him touch anyone, anytime. Hate to think of him in the same way as Marshall and Campbell.