Father Daniel Miller has a court date tomorrow morning (Wednesday, 13 June 2012) in Renfrew: 9:30 am, Renfrew courthouse (127 Raglan St. S.) Renfrew, Ontario. I believe this is still to merge the two sets of charges.
Please, as always, keep the complainants in your prayers, and, let’s pray that tomorrow the charges are finally joined so things can start to move along in the system.
*****
I told you that I had a chat with Raymond Fougere yesterday and would relay a few details. It’s taken me a while to sit down and do so. It’s troublesome. There is not a lot to relay, but, very disturbing.
Here is what I learned from Raymond.
Raymond is from Shediac, New Brunswick.
In 1976, when he was 24, Raymond moved to Cap Pele to find work as a handyman.
Raymond had a girl-friend. The girlfriend became pregnant. Raymond went to the local church to get help.
As I understand it, Raymond was at the back of the church beside a collection box when Father Camille Leger came in.
Father Leger accused Raymond of stealing from the collection box. Leger told the young man that, in exchange for sexual favours, he would not report Raymond to the police.
According to Raymond, he was convinced that he wouldn’t stand a chance if the parish priest told police he stole from the church.
For the next week-and-a-half Raymond was routinely sodomized by Father Camille Leger. After a week-and-half Raymond couldn’t take any more. He left town. He never went back.
He just went to the church for help.
Raymond is just now reaching out to make contact with his son. He does not know and has never laid eyes on his own flesh and blood. He wants to meet him.
According to Raymond there were a number of priests in Moncton who were molesting boys. He has personally heard stories. He knows one victim who received a huge settlement from the archdiocese some years ago. He doesn’t recall the name of the priest.
At the time we spoke Raymond had already attempted to contact Michel Bastarche to take part in the conciliation process. He had not had a return call and was planning to call again.
Please keep Raymond and all the victims of Father Camille Leger and other clergy in the Archdiocese of Moncton in your prayers.
Enough for now,
Sylvia
According to Raymond there were a number of priests in Moncton who were molesting boys. He has personally heard stories. He knows one victim who received a huge settlement from the archdiocese some years ago. He doesn’t recall the name of the priest.
Although I believe this story, even I ask myself: “Is this a made up story?” Seems almost too impossible to believe. I mean age 24 and all! For goodness sake man! Stand up for your self!
But then I think of this Fr Leger…the beast…the power….the collar….the black robe of authority…..the sadistic bastard he was! How was Raymond ever to prove he was innocent against the word of such a parish priest?
It was 1976 -no small year…… 32 Black African Nations Boycott Montreal Olympics in protest to continued sporting links between New Zealand and South Africa; Maria Peron Deposed by Military Coup in Argentina; Palestinian extremists hijack an Air France plane in Greece with 246 passengers and 12 crew. They take it to Entebbe, Uganda, where Israeli commandos storm the plane freeing the hostages ; and Landing Vehicles from the US Spacecraft Viking I and Viking II set down safely on Mars.
and so much more!
No small year. And to think an RC priest had so much power over one man. …and other abusing priests just like him there as well!
I hope the names are revealed and justice comes to pass in Moncton.
*Sylvia,
It might help if Raymond’s comments on another thread from 3 days ago were also posted with this story….I remember it was an unrelated story from 2010 I think.
It may give some ”insight” and help people moderate their own comments in trying to ”understand” from the victims perspective…I think/hope the “quick” translation could spare Raymond some regrets for sharing this with us….
jg
I agree with JG if you read Ray’s post on ” Something is Amiss “you get a good sense of pain and anguish and his need for support. Abusers are solely responsible for the consequences of their having abused and this also includes reports that may or may not be questionable. The victims are all those affected and not the abusers. If you don’t want to be accused of being a duck you should not walk, talk and look like one in the first place.
*Thanks Michel…Here’s the original in french and a trranslation:
June 10, 2012 at 9:17 am
*bonjour , je veus juswte vour dire que
je suie victime du pere camille leger. je suie catholic, depuie cette
evenment du pere camille leger,chutait pu la meme personne. je ne suie
pu travailler depuie.ca ma toujour afecter. jai jamais die a personne
mon histoire de ce jour envert bcamille leger. javaie vinght troie ans
quant ca cest ariver. javaie eter voir le prete pour de laide. loese
quille ces vanjer sur moi. moi jetait jeinner. et jai jamaie dit a
personne, mais ca ma toultemp inquietter.jai pas eter a leglise depuie,
et jai demander au bon dieu pourquoie ca ses ariver .je restait au
petit cap ces anner la. et jai un garcon au petit cap que jai jamaie vu
depuis ca ces passer ce drama. ca boulvercer ma vie et je ne suie pu
pareille depuie. je les pardonner de ce pecher enver moi. je demande
juste une somme pour majuster et matrapper au temps perdu acose du pere
camille leger .
—————————————–
He says he was a victim of Leger…catholic but never returned to church after….never worked again after he was assaulted by Leger at 23 years old…he had gone to ask him for some help when he took revenge on him(?)..very shy, he never told anyone…..he asked God why this happened to him….he lived in ”Petit Cap”(I think this is a slang for Cap Pelée, not sure) ….he had a son there whom he hasn’t seen since that happened….that destroyed his life he has never been the same after…he forgave him for the sin committed and he is only looking for an amount to readjust himself and catch up the lost time because of Leger…
jg
Thanks for posting Raymond’s comments jg, and thanks so much for a good translation of the same. I had his name linked to those comments, but a lot of people probably don’t realize that.
I hope and pray Raymond has no regrets about sharing, and can think if no reason that he should. The fact that Leger, a Roman Catholic priest, set this man up to use and abuse for his own gratification is despicable. Raymond’s age at the time is irrelevant. Leger successfully banked on Raymond’s fear of being reported to police and being labelled a criminal. To be quite honest, even if Raymond had taken a few dollars from the collection box Leger’s deal of no police in exchange for sexual favours would also have been despicable.
A similar kind of deal making was not uncommon with the predatory probation officers in Cornwall, Ontario, only there the deal – sometimes spoken and sometimes just understood – was no jail for the victim in exchange for sexual favours. When I heard what Rayomnd had to say it reminded me of the probation officers, but with the added twist that this was coming from a Roman Catholic priest, – and to a young man who had turned to the priest for guidance in a time of need.
How many other Raymond’s are there? Will we ever know?
If Leger stooped to these depths to satiate his lust, what other ‘deals’ did he make? Will we ever know?
I have a sense there are a lot of Leger victims out there.
The fact that Raymond was “of age’ when he was used and abused and essentially black-mailed/threatened into having sex with Camille Leger had to make it extremely difficult for Raymond to deal with. I do believe that Raymond has now put it into perspective and fully understands that the shame is not his, it is Leger’s.
I commend you Raymond for speaking out. I pray Raymond that your courage has given and will continue to give courage to others who endured a similar fate at the hands of Father Camille Leger.
I pray too that you will be well treated and properly compensated by Mr. Batstarche and the archdiocese . I am thankful that, thanks to you, this is another case which can not be swept under the rug, and thanks to you we all know a little more of Father Camille Leger’s perverted modus operandi.
Thank you Raymond. And thank you Normand Brun (Normand Brun is the other case)
We’ve just learned that mgr Andre Ponce Pilat Richard is retiring from bishop of the diocese of Moncton, at the age of 75!
He will be replace by mgr Valéry Vienneau of the diocese of Bathurst!
Valéry Vienneau and Michel Bastarache, can you sing “Back together again”!
Now all we need now is Wesley (does’nt know what his talking about) Wade to be the next bishop of Bathurst!!!!
This nightmare getting worse and worse, please some one wake me up!
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2012/06/15/nb-archbishop-moncton-vienneau-1204.html
Here it is on the net
Thank Baspuit. This caught me by surprse, but in truth it mmakes all the sense in the world.
New archbishop named for Moncton Catholics
Archbishop Richard’s birthday is 30 June 2012. Often bishops wait for months to have their resignation accepted. In many cases a resigning bishop is asked to stay on for another year or so. But, it seems that in this case Archbishop Richard’s resigation has been and his replacement announced – all in the twinkle of an eye.
And Bishop Valery Vienneau happens to be available and will become Archbishop of Moncton, and will right there to keep the lid on the Moncton scandal, just as he did in Bathurst.
Coincidence I suppose?
According to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops website Archbishop Richard’s birthday was 30 September 1937. I don’t have access to my books – does anyone know if it is June or September?