Welland Tribune
07 October 2010
By Tribune Staff
BELLEVILLE — A bail hearing for ex-priest Donald Grecco scheduled for Thursday morning has been adjourned until Oct. 13 in Belleville.
Grecco was arrested by Ontario Provincial Police on Wednesday for a breach of his residency requirements while awaiting sentencing.
The 70-year-old St. Catharines man pleaded guilty in March to three counts of gross indecency for abusing three altar boys, including at St. Kevin’s in Welland and St. Stephen’s in Cayuga.
He is to be sentenced for his crimes on Oct. 29 in Hamilton.
Earlier this week Grecco was named in a $3-million lawsuit launched by Michael Blum, who was a victim of Grecco in the late 1970s. Also named in the suit are former bishop James Wingle and the St. Catharines Roman Catholic diocese.
___________________________
Priest who confessed to child abuse re-arrested
Globe and Mail Update
Published Thursday, Oct. 07, 2010 7:12PM EDT
Last updated Thursday, Oct. 07, 2010 7:13PM EDT
Adrian Morrow
A former Catholic priest who pleaded guilty in March to sexually abusing three boys has been arrested on allegations he violated his bail conditions while awaiting sentencing.
Donald Grecco, 70, was taken into custody Wednesday in Prince Edward County in Eastern Ontario. Ontario Provincial Police confirmed the arrest, but declined to provide other details, such as which condition Mr. Grecco is accused of breaching.
The abuse took place between 1978 and 1986, while Mr. Grecco was a priest at churches in Cayuga, a small town in the Niagara peninsula, and Welland. The victims were altar boys.
One victim, Mike Blum, 46, announced a lawsuit against the ex-priest earlier this week. He is also suing the diocese of St. Catharines and former bishop James Wingle, who stepped down shortly after Mr. Grecco’s guilty plea.
In his statement of claim, Mr. Blum alleges the diocese didn’t do enough to assist him after he came forward with abuse allegations in 2005 and that the family of another victim informed the church of Mr. Grecco’s indiscretions in 1986.
The claims have not been tested in court.
Mr. Grecco left the priesthood before Mr. Blum approached the diocese.
The diocese has not responded to The Globe and Mail’s requests for comment.