What a brave brave little boy!

Share Button

There are lots of things to catch up on.  Things you should know.  There are several things on my list which I have been wanting to get posted with over the past few weeks.  This is the first on the list.  Here we go…

Regarding Father Leo Campbell (Baslian priest, now deceased.  There are multiple allegations of sex abuse against this priest)   ….

A few weeks ago I had contact from a man who attended the Columbus Boy’s Camp in Orillia, Ontario .  As some of you may recall, several years ago I did some research on the camp, and, knowing that definitely Father Leo Campbell and possibly some other Basilian molesters assisted at the camp, expressed concerns that time at the camp may not have been a ‘joyful’ experience for every needy little boy who attended.

Well, “Brent” (not his real name) was one of those little boys.  Brent, thankfully, was not molested.  But that little boy, at a summer camp for needy children,  knew of other boys who were.  And, he – that brave brave little boy – decided he was going to make it stop, and to make it stop the only way a little 11-year-old boy knew how. He would stab the priest.

Brent’s plan was to stab Father Campbell in the neck with a knife. That’s the way the child thought.  No, of course, it wasn’t at all the answer, and it was not the right thing to do, and thank goodness for his sake he did not succeed, but that’s what this little 11-year-old boy saw as a solution.

Brent doesn’t want his identity revealed.  For various reasons which I won’t get into and which are irrelevant to this saga he is ashamed of the whole incident, but he gave me permission to pass his account of what happened along.

Here are a few excerpts from Brent’s account of his weekend at Camp Columbus

“I grew up poor in Ontario housing and in the summers me and my brother went to camp in Orrillia . Leo Campbell the scum bag was the leader there and yes he was hurting the kids. “

He also tells me that a good friend of his saw Campbell “getting a blowjob from another kid” and that Campbell ” tried to massage my friend but he ran away.”

“I also remember that if you got in trouble they took you to his room and he would spank you”

” …my brother had seen him [Father Campbell] fondling a boy on movie night so the next day I as an 11 year old got a knife and was going to stab him in the neck but was stopped by a counsellor.”

The stabbing attempt took place during Mass.   Brent’s and his brother were packed up and sent home.

And, finally,  this,

” So yes Sylvia the scumbag was hurting children at the camp, you are on the right track.  I have never been to a church since and never will again as they protect these people . Please do not post my name as I am ashamed.”

All I can say is  to repeat what I said above, and to Brent:  What a brave brave little boy!

No one knew?  Really?  No one knew????

Please keep “Bent” in your prayers.

Enough for now,

Sylvia

This entry was posted in Accused or charged, Basilians, Clerical sexual predators and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.

1 Response to What a brave brave little boy!

  1. Paul Mallany says:

    Hi Sylvia

    A recent CBC news item reporting on the problem of getting the names of priests who had been accused of sexual abuse published prompted me to search for names I might recognize. I found your site and the name Leo Campbell.
    The boys and girls in our family spent many a summer at Columbus boys camp in the 50’and early 60’s. During most of the 50’s the boys and girls alternated sessions for the summer. Some time in the early 60’s a new camp was started for girls, so Columbus hosted only boys. The two camps filled the need for poor and neglected kids to have a camp experience without charge. My parents, with 12 kids were very thankful.
    None of my siblings ever mentioned any kind of abuse at the camp.

    I became a counselor at the camp from 1966 to 1968 ad then a senor staff member from 1969-1973. The camp was run by Basillian seminary students and a Chaplin. I was the only non Basillian working. This changed when more lay people were hired as senior staff in later years.
    Leo Campbell was the director of the camp for a couple of years when I was there. As a member of the senior staff I was brought into the world of the Basillian community. At times I felt like I was member of their community. I found them to be friendly and totally dedicated in their work. They were very influential supportive in my efforts to continue my university education and eventually become a teacher. I will admit they were probably recruiting me for the priesthood and it was tempting. I did not
    During my time I can say that I did not witness any kind of sexual or physical abuse.
    I did however, hear years later ‘rumblings” of abuse from a former nurse whose name I don’t remember. I probably dismissed this as being impossible.
    So it sickens me to hear the story from Brent. I do not know how to respond. I don’t want to believe it but I can’t discount his story.
    I will admit that was pretty naive as a teenager and may not have recognized the signs. It could have happened when I was there. There were many vulnerable children.

Leave a Reply