We left Ottawa at 05:30 am yesterday, and arrived in Ottawa at 9 pm. Really!
We made it to Ottawa, Illinois last evening. It was a good run. Traffic not too bad at all, even around Chicago. Another six hour drive ahead of us this morning. That will be a breeze 🙂
*****
Did you see what the Crown`s office did for Father Jose Silva? Look at this:
10 July 2012: Priest with sexual assault charge in Brazil
10 July 2012: Warrant issued for fugitive Hamilton priest
That an assistant Crown would give a suspect predatory priest the green light to elude justice defies comprehension.
Are we the unwashed truly expected to believe that justice has been done here? Are we expected to rejoice that Dean Paquette and assistant Crown Carey Lee worked out a deal to avert a trial? Should we be elated by the knowledge that, thanks to the office of the Crown, a suspect clerical sexual predator is now foot-loode-and-fancy-free in Brazil?
I am at a loss for words.
A mockery of justice. An outright mockery of justice.
How many more sweet deals like this have been hatched behind closed doors?
What about Father Eric Dejaeger? How did he manage to get out of the country? Was there perhaps a sweet deal there too ?
Anyway, the warrant for Silva`s arrest seems no more than a sham. Of course he won`t come back to Canada. And he won`t be extradited. Thanks to the gracious assistance of the assistant Crown, he`s free as a bird . Why would he be fool enough to look a gift horse in the mouth? I think not. He doesn`t want and is not prepared to face his accuser in a court of law.
Enough for now,
Sylvia
*If the Crown doesn’t think Fr. Silva’s case is worth the time and money of a trial then neither should we. In efforts to bring attention to child abuse it’s vital to not commit calumny.
Possible learnings from “the Silva Solution — i.e. a sweetheart deal to leave the country and avoid prosecution.
1. Country A wants to get rid of a problem and agrees not to prosecute if accused returns to country of origin.
2. Belgian Oblate superior of Eric DeJaeger claims a similar story (in a videotaped interivew) and that is why they sheltered him for 16 years. I always assumed there was a misrepresentation of facts there. Maybe there was NOT.
3. Hot diggity dog! Maybe THAT is why Canada was so uncooperative with Belgian authorities wishing to return EDJ.
4. EDJ had become Canadian and had not retained his Belgian citizenship. Strike One.
EDJ was on the radar of internet super sleuths Lieve and Sylvia. Strike Two.
Thanks to expansion of the internet, the north is no longer isolated and the secrets of cleric sexual abuse were exposed… again and agan and again … 70+ times. Strike Three
Crowns should be required to discuss with alleged victims and take into consideration what their wish for justice should be. I can’t wait to see how Eric Dejaeger is processed through the system..He may still get a sweeter deal than the common criminal..oh yeah he is a convicted sexual criminal but that little band around his neck may be a mitigating factor. I hope that they proceed even further and lay charges against everyone involved who authored this travesty for endangerment to children, for not reporting as well as aiding and abetting a known fugitive.It would be interesting to see the difference in impact statement from survivors of clerical abuse versus abuse at the hands of a common citizen..I suspect that victims retain the same trauma in both cases but that the breach of trust is more deleterious in the clerical abuse case.