Gerald Roy
Priest, Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Ordained 1963. 1994 requested treatment – decided to live of self exile. 20001 GUILTY plea – changed his plea before sentencing. 2001 GUILTY plea at new trial – sentenced to 2 1/2 years. Decided to live as hermit after release from jail.
Served as both a teacher and priest in Field, Cache Bay and Sudbury, Ontario
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19 October 2012: Defrock bad priests: Sex abuse victims
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Bishops of Sault Ste. Marie Diocese since Father Gerald Roy’s ordination : Alexander Carter (Coadjutor Bishop: 10 Dec ember1956 – Bishop 22 November 1958 – 03 May 1985); Marcel André J. Gervais (03 May 1985 – 13 May 1989 when appointed, Coadjutor Archbishop of Ottawa, Ontario) ; Jean-Louis Plouffe (02 December 1989 – )
Auxiliary bishops: Adolphe E. Proulx (2 Jan 1965 – 28 April 1967 [ also served as Chancellor from 1960 – 1965] ); Roger-Alfred Despatie (20 May 1968 – 8 February 1973); Gérard Dionne ( 29 January 1975 – 23 November 1983); Bernard Francis Pappin (29 January 1975 – 27 Aug 1998); Jean-Louis Plouffe (12 Dec 1986 – Bishop 02 Dec 1989); Paul-André Durocher ( 20 January 1997 – 27 April 2002); Robert Harris 26 October 2002 – 8 May 2007); Brian Joseph Dunn (16 July 2008 – 21 Nov 2009); Noel Simard – ).
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The following information is drawn from Canadian Catholic Church Directories (CCCD) which I have on hand, the 1980 Ontario Catholic Directory (OCD) and media (M)
2011, 2010, 2008: living in Warren, Ontario (CCCD)
2002: Warren, Ontario (CCCD)
May 2001: preliminary hearing on charges of sexual assault, buggery and assault
April 2001: new trial ordered
October 2000: GUILTY plea, but changed his plea before sentencing
2000: Warren, Ontario (CCCD)
1999: Warren, Ontario (CCCD)
1998, 1997: 649 rue Morin, North Bay, Ontario 705-495-6234 (CCCD)
1996: 103, rue Donat, Azilda, Ontario (CCCD)
1995, 1994, 1993, 1992, 1991: Pastor, Saint Matthieu, Sudbury, Ontario (CCCD)
1994: requested a sabbatical to attend a treatment centre in the States which he allegedly planned to follow by a life of self exile (M)
1985-86: Pastor, St. Mathieu Roman Catholic Church, Ontario (CCCD)
1980: Pastor, St. Theresa of Avila, Ontario (OCD)
1973-74: Pastor, St. Theresa of Avila, Cache Bay, Ontario (CCCD)
1971-72: not listed in index (CCCD)
shown as a member of the diocesand liturgical commission with Chairman by Msgr. C.G. Adams. (CCCD)
1968-69: Sacred Heart , 140 Main St., Ontario
member of Diocesan liturgy commission (Chairman by Msgr. C.G. Adams) (CCCD)
1967: Annunciation, New Sudbury, Ontario (Pastor Father M.J. Michaud)
1963: ORDAINED
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Stories Goes to Grave: Plouffe; Bishop Says Full Story of Abuse Allegations May Never Be Known
The Sudbury Star
28 January 2008
By Carol Mulligan
We will never know the full story behind claims of sexual abuse against Roman Catholic clergy and the people who make them, says Bishop Jean-Louis Plouffe.
Plouffe isn’t denying there have been instances of sexual abuse by priests in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie, but they are hard to prove when the priests named in lawsuits are dead.
“Let’s put it this way: ‘They’ve taken it to their grave,’ ” said Plouffe on Monday in a 55-minute interview with The Sudbury Star.
Plouffe was responding to a news conference held hours earlier at which seven lawsuits against Roman Catholic dioceses and a religious order of priests were announced by Ledroit Beckett Litigation Lawyers of London, Ont.
Six of the lawsuits were filed against the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie and four of the five priests named in those suits are deceased.
One, Gerald Roy, is in his early 70s and lives in Warren, east of Sudbury, said Plouffe.
The bishop said Roy took early retirement after he served time in a federal penitentiary after he was sentenced in 2001 to 2 1/2 years for sexual abuse of four altar boys in the 1980s.
“After coming back (from prison), Roy decided that he wanted to live as a hermit, a monk. He wanted to live a sort of monastic life and his ministry is now one of prayer,” said Plouffe.
Roy is allowed to celebrate mass “on his own, for himself. But he has not asked to be defrocked or dispensed of his priestly obligations “of celibacy and prayer for the church,” said Plouffe.
Roy, Father Don Holmes and Father Thomas O’Dell have all been convicted of sexual offences against children and are living on pensions which all priests pay into from the day they were ordained, said Plouffe.
Plouffe said regular Sunday contributions from parishioners in the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie do not support these priests.
“Absolutely nothing. I look you in the eyes. Nothing, absolutely nothing,” said Plouffe.
Priests have vested rights in a pension plan “and it kicks in whenever it has to,” he said.
Priests, such as the three convicted, do not get the maximum pensions because they retired early.
Priests who have been disgraced with criminal convictions can continue to say mass privately, but no longer receive appointments from the bishop.
Once civil lawsuits are filed against the diocese for sexual misconducts by its priests, those cases must proceed through the legal system.
Plouffe said his diocese is accepting responsibility for the alleged sexual misconduct of some of its priests, some of it dating back more than half a century.
When asked how his diocese is doing that, Plouffe said softly: “The best way we can.”
When you’re involved in the legal process, you try to be as sensitive as you can to the issue “because it hurts. It hurts people.”
That legal process can sometimes be restrictive, said the bishop.
“You can’t do at times what you would like to do.”
In the best of all possible worlds, Plouffe said he would be able to sit with the accusers and the accused – “and see what we can do to help these people in a very practical way without having to go through a process which is, at times, very painful.”
Plouffe said the goal would be to “alleviate the hurt as much as you can, be as fair and honest as you can, so that people can move on.” Someone finding it very difficult to move on is Daniel Contant, 54, of Callander.
Contant sat in the audience at Monday’s news conference as his sister, Anita Contant, 60, spoke about the abuse she suffered as a child.
Anita Contant is one of the seven plaintiffs in new lawsuits being handled by Ledroit Beckett. She alleges she was abused by Father Magnus J. Fedy and Father Victor Killoran, both of whom taught at Scollard Hall in North Bay and both of whom are dead.
Killoran pleaded guilty in 1990 to sexually abusing a boy and girl in Kitchener-Waterloo.
Daniel is one of three plaintiffs who launched lawsuits last year against the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie for sexual abuse by Fedy and Father John Fisher.
He was too overcome with emotion at Monday’s news conference to speak to reporters.
On Tuesday, Daniel Contant said priests who sexually abuse children commit “soul murder.”
He said his alleged abusers “systematically brainwashed and seduced you in a way that you felt that you were doing right in the eyes of God.
“We were taught that priests in general were all representatives of God in conjunction with our Roman Catholic upbringing from the day that we were baptized into this faith,” said Daniel.
“How much is a life worth when all you have left is an empty shell to attempt to grow and nurture yourself with, aside from all the psychological effects that comes along with being victimized?
Daniel said he is grateful to other alleged victims who have come forward because it encourages his resolve and empowers others to go public with claims of abuse.
Contact: cmulligan@thesudburystar.com
The Cases
Here, are some of the facts in seven lawsuits launched recently against the Roman Catholic Church in Ontario. None of the allegations have been proven in court:
Anita Contant v. The Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie and the Congregation of the Resurrection in Ontario. Perpetrators: Father Magnus J. Fedy and Father Victor Killoran, both deceased. Abuse alleged to have occurred at Scollard Hall;
Raymond Carriere v. The Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie. Perpetrator: Father Rene Hebert, deceased. Abuse alleged to have occurred at L’Annonciation Church in New Sudbury;
J.G. (name not given) v. Gerald Roy and The Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie. Perpetrator: Father Gerald Roy (living). Abuse alleged at Notre-Dame-des-Victoires Parish in Field;
Thomas Miller v. The Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie and the Congregation of the Resurrection in Ontario. Perpetrator: Father Victor Killoran. Abuse alleged at Scollard Hall;
Gregory O’Connor v. The Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie and the Congregation of the Resurrection in Ontario. Perpetrator Father Magnus J. Fedy. Abuse alleged at Scollard Hall;
R.D. Sabourin v. The Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie. Perpetrator: Father Rene Hebert. Abuse alleged at L’Annonciation Church;
Notice Letter of Kevin Bishop to the Province of Ontario and The Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie. Perpetrator: Father John Fisher. Abuse alleged at Vita Way Farms in Powassan, Ont.
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Former Sudbury priest jailed for sexual assaults
The Sudbury Star
19 December 2001
‘I would like to apologize, and I would like to ask forgiveness of my accusers and victims and of God, the church and society’
NORTH BAY — A retired priest was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in a federal penitentiary Tuesday, for “appalling and reprehensible” sexual assaults against four altar boys beginning in the early 1980s.
Gerald Roy, 64, served as a Roman Catholic priest and teacher in the Ontario communities of Field, Cache Bay and Sudbury.
He was scheduled to stand trial this week in North Bay Superior Court, but instead pleaded guilty Tuesday to five counts of sexually assaulting the boys, who were between the ages of 10 and 19 at the time.
The sexual assaults range from hugging and kissing to masturbation and oral sex.
In one instance, Roy gave a victim $5,000 to keep quiet about the assaults.
“I would like to apologize, and I would like to ask forgiveness of my accusers and victims and of God, the church and society,” Roy said before sentencing.
Justice Robert Boissonneault called Roy’s statement the most “eloquent and sincere” apology heard during his 14 years on the bench.
The judge said Roy requested a sabbatical leave from pastoral duties in 1994 to attend a treatment centre for sexual deviance in the United States, followed by a life of self-exile and minimal contact with the outside world.
But the judge focused much of his attention on Roy’s victims, who sat quietly with their supporters on one side of the courtroom.
Boissonneault read their statements aloud to emphasize how the traumatic assaults have scarred the victims’ lives.
The men described the lingering fear of trusting people, along with the embarrassment and shame that ruined their childhood and continues to impact their adult relationships.
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New trial for priest on sex charges
The Sudbury Star
11 April 2001
STURGEON FALLS (CP) — A new trial has been ordered for a retired Roman Catholic priest who faces seven sex-related charges.
The alleged incidents involved two boys nearly 20 years ago.
Gerald Roy, 62, is to return to court May 14 for a preliminary hearing on charges of sexual assault, buggery and assault.
Roy pleaded guilty to the charges last October, but changed his plea before sentencing.
sick nasty people
Was abused by Gerald Roy in field Ontario a was in grade five or four I’m 41 now and still can’t understand
Don’t torture yourself trying to understand Stephane. There is no understanding of the cruel godless crime and sin of clerical sexual abuse.
My thoughts and prayers are with you.
Hi there,
I knew Gerald Roy when I was a student at Notre-Dame College in Sudbury. He was the “hip and cool” priest who got along well with most students. That said, he had an agenda…he was very “touchy feely” with us, boys and girls and would even invite us to his home to have drinks….we were only 16-17 years old!!!! He would have extra short shorts on with no underwear on…yes, as he sat his “junk” was hanging out…he knew it, he saw that we knew it….and was hoping for a reaction I guess….we acted like we saw nothing. I remember many instances when he would flat out ask us together as groups of kids or alone at confession: “so how often do you masturbate?”….he would focus on these sexual topics and I’m sure I could see him touching himself next to me in the confessional box. He was a real creep in the end and was glad to never see him again when I was done high school. I was not surprised in the least to hear of sexual harassment cases against him. Honestly saying he’s sorry in somewhat honorable, but will never erase the pain he has caused so many people. Hope he has a boring, horrible life with nightmares that will haunt him his whole life since he does seem to feel remorseful.
I also knew Don Holmes. He was the priest at my church for years in the 70’s and 80’s, St-Dominique church. He was also a cool and fun priest who played floor hockey with us, talked music and movies with us….but also was touchy feely too. He always had to end conversations with a hug….not really with boys, mostly girls. The girls would tell us that he had touched their bums with his hand as the embrace ended with his hand always making it’s way down their backs and swiping their behinds. Or even to a slight hand wipe on their breasts too….not just some girls would say this, but most of them. You couldn’t talk about it with your parents ’cause they wouldn’t want to hear it…he was Father Don and basically was God to them in the parish….he even came over to dinner at my house one time. The evening was uneventful, even more reason to say nothing about him in a negative way or you’d be most likely slapped….this was the 70’s and all…glad he got what was coming to him too.
Thanks for allowing me to add my 2 cents…cheers!
The sexual assaults range from hugging and kissing to masturbation and oral sex.
In one instance, Roy gave a victim $5,000 to keep quiet about the assaults.
“I would like to apologize, and I would like to ask forgiveness of my accusers and victims and of God, the church and society,” Roy said before sentencing.
Justice Robert Boissonneault called Roy’s statement the most “eloquent and sincere” apology heard during his 14 years on the bench.
The judge said Roy requested a sabbatical leave from pastoral duties in 1994 to attend a treatment centre for sexual deviance in the United States, followed by a life of self-exile and minimal contact with the outside world.
But the judge focused much of his attention on Roy’s victims, who sat quietly with their supporters on one side of the courtroom.
Boissonneault read their statements aloud to emphasize how the traumatic assaults have scarred the victims’ lives.
The men described the lingering fear of trusting people, along with the embarrassment and shame that ruined their childhood and continues to impact their adult relationships.
I found this article about Roy and the sad part is that he is free to do as he pleases. All those horrible priests are free to hurt more innocent victims. So sad for the next victims. I wish that the judges would put all these sick pedophiles on a fenced land and not let them come out for no reason whatsoever!!