There will be kudos

Convicted Basilian molester Father William Hodgson Marshall csb is scheduled to appear in a Windsor, Ontario courtroom  tomorrow this morning (Monday, 04 February 2012) to answer to the sex abuse charges laid against him in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan February  2011.  If all goes as it should Father Marshall will be entering a guilty plea to those charges.  I say ‘as it should’ only because the deal in this instance was that the Saskatoon charges would be dealt with in Ontario if he was entering a guilty plea.  How many months has it taken?

So, tomorrow this morning, 04 February 2013, at the Windsor courthouse:  10 am, courtroom #10

For the sake of the Saskatchewan victims, let’s hope that this is dealt with tomorrow, and that,  aside the anticipated guilty plea,  some modicum of justice will be done.

Speaking of the victims, I had hoped that they would be able to be there.  I see from the comments that they are not.  I don’t know if they prefer not to be there.  That is highly possible.  But, if they wanted to be there to look Hod in the eye I truly believe that someone should have picked up the associated costs, i.e., to transport each victim and one other person to Windsor and cover the costs for hotel and meals.   That someone should have been either the Attorney General’s office in Saskatoon and/or the Attorney General’s office in Ontario.  I doubt that it was the victim’s choice to have the charges transferred to Ontario.  Perhaps that transfer served Hod and his lawyer Andrew Brady well, but, what about the victims?

Please keep the victims and their families in your prayers tomorrow.   The waiting and wondering will I am sure add to the stress of the day.

I suggest we don’t hold our collective breath waiting for word that Hod is going back to jail.  Remember that it was Andrew Brady who managed to get Hod off with a mere two years for the sex abuse of no less than 16 boys and one young woman.  And it was Andrew Brady who managed to swing a sweet deal ensuring that any Ontario victims who came forward after the deal would have the door to justice slammed in his/her face.  And it was Brady who somehow managed to get these Saskatoon charges moved to Ontario; to Windsor.  So, I doubt that there will be any time behind bars.  There will be kudos for the guilty plea, and hearts and flowers about health and age.  Not much, if anything, will be said about what he’s put his victims through.

My thoughts and prayers are with you out in Saskatoon.

*****

I’m putting together some information on the Basilians.  The news about the suspension of  “Happy Hands Hanna” from his teaching post in Houston Texas led me to do a little digging and little thinking about the Basilians in North America.  And then came word my way that a former principal at St. Thomas High School had been given the boot for some form of misconduct.  I started digging on that, and sure enough, there it was …back in 1997 Father Michael Cerretto,  the Principal at St. Thomas, was arrested for exposing himself at an adult bookstore!

And more recently the wrestling coach at the school, a layman, was charged with possession of child pornography.

But, for now, back to the priests.

I have been told that word is out that Father Hanna is here in Canada.  That wouldn’t surprise me at all.

I was well aware that the Basilians are back and forth across the border all the time, but I found myself looking at the order with a different set of eyes and realizing just how much of a ‘family’ they are.  The order’s headquarters, after all, is in Toronto.  Add to that the fact that a number of American Basilians studied at St. Michael’s College in Toronto, and I decided I really needed to add both Fathers Hanna and Cerretto and further information about the Basilians to the site and keep it all together where it can be readily accessed, but wasn’t sure how I was going to do it.

Finally I  sorted it out 🙂

I’m still adding files and sorting, but you will see that in 2012 Father Cerretto was on the Basilian Fathers of Toronto Board of Directors, as were Father Storey (A Canadian who now serves as President of St. Thomas),  Father Timothy Scott (Canadian spokesman for the Basilians), and Father Thomas Rosica (American born Basilian serving in Canada summoned by someone or other to work in the Vatican press until a new Pope is elected – he will be telling us in the English speaking world what’s happening over there ).

Remember, all of this is just being posted so is in a bit of disarray, but as I add information I will try to get things in to some logical sense of order.

The page can be accessed manually by clicking on “RC Scandal” on the black horizontal menu under the picture , and then click Basilians.

*****

Speaking of St. Michael’s  and Toronto, I had a long talk with a victim of Father Bruno Primavera.   In fact, both the man with whom I spoke and his brother were sexually abused by Father Primavera.  In the Toronto area.

This ties into St. Michael’s Boys School Choir.

In due course there will be more on this.  A reminder for now that we knew before that Toronto’s Auxiliary Bishop Thoma B. Fulton had sent a note to a Connecticut Bishop  which read in part that Prinavera had a  “tendency to seek out the companionship of young teenage boys on a one¬to-one basis,” and that “In one instance, although no public scandal resulted, his conduct was such that it was found advisable to transfer him to another parish.”

And away Primavera went to Connecticut – and molested again, and again, and again.

If anyone has any more information please send it along or post a comment

I must call it a day,

Enough for now,

Sylvia