Peace bond and withdrawal of charges for Father Noronha

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Father Cecil Noronha has signed a peace bond.  During a Friday, 11 October 2019 hearing “for resolution” all three charges against Father Cecil Noronha  were withdrawn and he entered into a peace bond.

I am currently awaiting a copy of the conditions attached to the peace bond and will post those as soon as they are available.  The charges which Father Noronha faced were:

(1)  Sexual Assault on a Person Under Sixteen Years of Age, contrary to section 271;

(2)  Sexual Interference, contrary to section 151; and

(3)  Uttering Threats – Cause Death or Bodily Harm, contrary to section 264.1(1)(a).

The Steps to Justice website provides a good recap on peace bonds and the process involved whereby a person facing criminal charges can enter into a peace bond.  Here is a link:

Information regarding Peace Bonds in Ontario

 Please keep the complainant in your prayers.

*****

A reminder that the assault trial of Father James Robertson of the Diocese of Corner Brook Newfoundland is scheduled for two days starting this Thursday:

TRIAL booked for 17& 18  October 2019, 09:30 am, Corner Brook Courthouse (82 Mt. Bernard Avenue)

I encourage those who can do so to attend.

Please keep the complainant in your prayers

Enough for now,

Sylvia

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A few updates

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The next court date for Father Cecil Noronha is:

Friday, 11 October 2019:  09:30 am, “for resolution,”  Sudbury Courthouse (155 Elm St, Sudbury)

Please keep the complainants in your prayers.  I encourage those who can do so to attend to find out what is happening here.  I think it is highly possible that Father Noronha will be there this time.

Please keep the complainant in your prayers.

*****

The name of Father Robert J. Chisholm has been added to the Accused list.  I know nothing about the allegations here barring the little that is said in the statement put out by the archdiocese .  It sounds as though there  was a report of some sort filed somewhere in the mid 90s.   We have no idea what date whatever is alleged to have happened happened.  There is a reference to minors.  And, that’s it.

I found that he was listed as being at Camp Borden in the mid 80s.  It certainly looks as though he may have spent some time as a military chaplain?

*****

I have received word from a reliable source that Brother Lawrence Lambert fic, a Canadian-born Religious Brother with the Brothers of Christian Instruction who taught at the prestigious St. Mary’s International School in Japan,  died 08 June 2019.  He had been living at the the Mother House in La Prairie.  Please keep those who suffered at the hands of this man in your prayers.

*****

As of last week there was  no court date set  for Father Robert MacKenzie‘s planned  appeal of his extradition to Scotland.   I shall check again this week.  Please keep the complainants in Scotland in your prayers.

*****

A follow up to the recent scandal at the Basilian Toronto’s St. Michael’s College School scandal:

03 October 2019:  3 ex-students plead guilty to sex assault offences at St. Michael’s College School

Disgusting.

Enough for now,

Sylvia

Posted in Accused or charged, Basilians, Brothers of Christian Instruction, Canada, Clerical sexual predators, Scandal | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

More updates

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It’s taken a while but I have finally have the next court date for Father Cecil Noronha :

03 September 2019: 09:00 am, Assignment Court, Sudbury courthouse, 155 Elm St, Sudbury.

This is open to the public but Father Noronha does not need to and he probably will not be there, and besides, it will be over and done with in a matter of minutes: It is just a case of setting a court date.

This MAY well be for setting a trial date, but not necessarily. Regardless, there will be at least a few weeks before the next court date after Assignment Court.  I will find out and let you know.

Please keep the complainant in your prayers.

*****

The August court dates for ex=priest and convicted molester Barry McGrory were cancelled and rescheduled.  The judge apparently is sick.

So, for those who showed up at the Ottawa courthouse on Tuesday, there was nothing happening.  And, yes, tomorrow is cancelled as well.

And, to add ‘insult’ to injury,’  believe it or not, the next court date for McGrory is:

07 January 2020:  10 am, sentencing hearing, Ottawa courthouse (161 Elgin St.)

Yes.  You read it correctly.  January!!!!  2020!!!

This will be hard on the victims.   Please keep them in your prayers.

*****

Here are some updates on the Cardinal George Pell conviction and appeal:

25 August 2019:  “George Pell to take his case to the High Court” & related articles

I am truly amazed at how many people are convinced that Cardinal Pell is innocent, and how, even after all of these years of scandal, how very little people really know and understand about the horror and impact of clerical sexual abuse.

Enough for now,

Sylvia

Posted in Accused or charged, Bishops, Canada, Cardinal Pell, Clerical sexual predators, Scandal, Trials, Vatican | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Defrocked priests

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I had a blog together which disappeared into thin air when I tried to publish it 🙁  No draft.  No back up.  Poof!  Gone.  Very unusual that there is not one line of back-up anywhere, but …. it’s gone.  So, very very quickly :

(1)  Father Daniel Miller

Father Daniel Miller, a priest with the Diocese of Pembroke, Ontario and convicted child molester has, thankfully, been defrocked:

14 August 2019:  DISMISSAL OF DANIEL MILLER FROM THE CLERICAL STATE

Please keep the victims in your prayers.

(2)   Barry MGrory

Ex-priest (defrocked) and twice-convicted child molester Barry McGrory has a court date tomorrow and Thursday mornings:

27 & 29 August 2019:  9 am to 10 am, sentencing hearing, Ottawa courthouse (161 Elgin St.)

Note that the hearing is scheduled for one hour on each of the two days.  Due to difficulties scheduling a day for the hearing the split between the two days with approximately one hour of each day allocated for the hearing was deemed the best way to proceed.

I encourage those who can do so to attend.  (Unfortunately I have an appointment tomorrow which cannot be rescheduled so will have to miss, but, all being well I will be able to attend on Thursday morning )

Please keep the victims in your prayers.

Enough for now

Sylvia

Posted in Accused or charged, Bishops, Canada, Clerical sexual predators, Scandal, Trials | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Trial of previously convicted Viatorian priest adjourned

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The TRIAL for Monsignor James Robertson is booked for two days in October:

17 October 2019, 09:30 am, Corner Brook Courthouse (82 Mt. Bernard Avenue).

Please keep the complainant in your prayers

*****

The second sex abuse trial of previously convicted Viatorian priest Father Ronald Leger csv has been adjourned.  According to media reports Father Leger is in poor health and in palliative care

22 July 2019:  “Priest’s sexual assault trial adjourned due to failing health” & related article

This will be an extremely difficult time for the complainants.  Please keep them in your prayers.

*****

I have tried to get the next court date for Father Cecil Noronha but so far no luck.  Today I left another message.  Unfortunately I will be away until about 07 August so will not be able to get this sorted out until I get back.

(You may recall that after a preliminary hearing Father Noronha was ordered to stand trial.  He will be tried in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.  All legal proceedings will now be conducted in Sudbury Ontario rather than Espanola.)

*****

Father Robert Mackenzie continued his battle against extradition today in the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal.  When I get back I will try to find the status of the appeal.

Enough for now,

Sylvia

Posted in Accused or charged, Canada, Clerical sexual predators, Scandal, Trials | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Thank you

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Ex-priest and previously convicted molester Mr. Barry McGrory has been convicted of all counts of indecent assault on a male and  indecent assault.  McGrory appeared in court this morning with four supporters.  Neither of the two victims was in court to hear the verdict.

McGrory will next appear in court for sentencing on the 27th and 28th of August at 9 am.  The hearings each day will probably not last over an hour.  By way of explanation for this strange ‘date.’ the hearing had to be split between the courtroom time available over the two days to accommodate thejudge, Crown and defence availability.  There is about an hour available each morning from 9 am to 10 am.  Defence thinks it will take a bit longer than one hour, so…. two days with one hour each!

On those days defence will without doubt try to convince the court that, for the usual litany of reasons (i.e., frailty, poor health, suffered enough due to publicity defrocking, says he has overcome his sexual disorder through participation in a 12-step program) McGrory should not spend a single day behind bars.  Hopefully the Crown will argue that regardless of his age McGrory should serve time for his crimes. (I believe McGrory is 85 now?)

At some point there will also be opportunity for victims and/or family members  to read a victim impact statement into the record, or to have one read on his/herbehalf

Something came up which has me asking questions…

The abuse of both victims transpired between the late 1964 and 1971 when McGrory was serving as a priest at Richmond, Ontario.  According tot he judge, one victim went to the archdiocese to report the abuse .  What date this transpired is currently unknown, but what is known is that at that time there was a ‘pay-off’ of some sort and the victim was gagged.  At a later date (also at this time unknown) the victim became upset when he  realized he had been gagged and started contacting the archdiocese again.  I don;t know the outcome of that contact, but am wondering if in fact the gag was an illegal gag?  ie. was the victim prohibited from contacting law enforcement?   I don’t know, but, if yes,  that is illegal.

No matter, for now I am trying to sort out who at the archdiocese knew what and when.   I do know that McGrory disappeared very suddenly in or around 1986.  I remember  clearly being told, by a priest.   There was something strange about it, but at that time in my life I had not an inkling of what.   In later years I looked back on McGrory’s strange and sudden departure, and the manner in which I was told he was ‘gone,”  and wondered if he had in fact been reported, and if perhaps there was some sort of an agreement made with Church or other authorities to  get him out of the city immediately?  (I do know of cases where deals were made that no charges would be laid if the priest disappeared from the community.  )

So, back to the question:  at what date did the the victim referenced above contact the archdiocese to report his abuse at the hands of McGrory?

An interesting side bar to this is the fact that, according to a June 2016 article in the Ottawa Sun McGrory told Andrew Duffy that he, McGrory, had told then Ottawa Archbishop Joseph-Aurele Plourde of his, McGrory’s, predilection for adolescents.  There is no specific date, but it seems to relate to his years at Holy Cross.  Despite this knowledge Plourde allowed McGrory to move on to assume duties as assumed as head of Catholic Church Extension Society (head office in Toronto, Ontario) .  Two years later McGrory was sexually abusing the young native boy who later went to police .

What I am now wondering is if perchance McGrory’s ‘disclosure’ to the Archbishop actually came after a victim or a victim’s family members went pounding on the doors of the Archbishop? In other words, perhaps this ‘disclosure’ transpired after McGrory was reported?

Perhaps it happened more than once? Perhaps it was only in the mid 80s that a very tolerant Archbishop Plourde finally felt obliged to squire McGrory out of the archdiocese?

Yes, honestly, I am beginning to think that there may well have been a number of victims or their family members who reported McGrory.     Truth be told, I have a sense that there are a lot of McGrory victims out there who have yet to come forward.

Please keep the victims in your prayers.  And please pray for the repose of the soul of the unfortunate victim who died before the case went to trial.  I was thinking of him this morning.

Finally, I commend those who came forward.  Never forget all of you, it is only because of your courage in speaking out that we know what wolves in sheep’s clothing these molesters were and are.  And it is only through your courage that we know that a number of bishops and archbishops lied to victims, recycled molesters and in so doing willfully placed young children and adolescents at risk.  Thank you.   Thank you every one of you.

I will leave it at that for now.

A reminder that the next court dates for Mr. Barry McGrory are:

27, 28 August 2019:  09:00 am, sentencing, Ottawa courthouse (161 Elgin St.)

………………………

An excellent article by Andrew Duffy in today’s Ottawa Citizen:

24 June 2019:  Former Catholic priest Barry McGrory found guilty of historic sex assaults

Enough for now,

Sylvia

Posted in Accused or charged, Bishops, Canada, Clerical sexual predators, Scandal, Trials | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Updates

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There are several updates regarding trials and court-dates:

(1)  Father Malcolm D’Souza

Priest Diocese of Calgary Alberta.  Late vocation to the priesthood – ordained 2002.

The charges laid against Father Malcolm D’Souza in January 2019 have been withdrawn:

20 June 2019:  “Sexual assault charges against Calgary pastor withdrawn” & related articles

What exactly happened here is unknown.   According to media reports the Crown said there was no reasonable prospect of conviction and it was not in the public interest to proceed.

Despite the withdrawal of charges Father D’Souza will remain on administrative leave while the Diocese of Calgary conducts an internal investigation:

20 June 2019:  Diocese of Calgary statement after charges withdrawn

(2)  Monsignor James Robertson

Priest Diocese of Corner Brook and Labrador (previously Diocese of St. George’s).  Ordained 1989.  Involved in coordinating the Diocese of St. George’s Newfoundland settlement agreement with victims of clerical sexual abuse.  Charges laid April 2019.

The next court-date for Monsignor James Robertson is:

16 July 2019: 09:30 am, “for plea” Corner Brook Courthouse (82 Mt. Bernard Avenue, Corner Brook, Newfoundland)

(3)  Father Henri Paradis

Priest with the Society of the Missionaries of the Holy Apostles (MSA). Ordained 13 May 1972.  Charges laid April 2019.

The next court-date for Father Henri Paradis is:

06 September 2019: 09:30, courtroom # 105, Laval courthouse ( 2800 Boulevard Saint-Martin O, Laval, Quebec).

(4)  Father Cecil Noronha

Indian born priest.  Ordained 1981. Former Salesian priest – now member of the Voluntas Dei Insitute.  Charged June 2018.

After his preliminary hearing of 14 June 2019 Father Cecil Noronha was committed to stand trial. His case has now been transferred to the Superior Court of Justice in Sudbury Ontario.   It usually takes a week or so for files to be transferred to the Superior Court and therefore at least a week or more before a court-date is set.  I will check again today to see if there is a court-date set.  As soon as I get court date I will let you know,

As I mentioned before, this next  court date will NOT be a trial date: There will be another series of court-dates in Superior Court before a trial date is set.

(5)  Mr. Barry McGrory

Ex-priest, Archdiocese of Ottawa, Ontario.  Ordained 1960.  Guilty plea 1993.   New charges laid November 2016.  Defrocked 2018

The rendering of the verdict at the sex trial of ex-priest and previously convicted molester was put off until next Monday.

24 June 2019:  VERDICT,  Ottawa courthouse (161 Elgin St.)

(6) Father Robert MacKenzie

 Scottish born former Benedictine.  Ordained in Edinburgh 1956.   Served in  Archdiocese of Regina Saskatchewan since 1988.

Father Robert MacKenzie is battling extradition to Scotland to face his accusers. He has a court-date with the Court of Appeal in July:

24 July 2019: 10 am, “chamber hearing,” Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan ( 2425 Victoria Avenue, Regina, Saskatchewan)

This is not the actual hearing itself, but a step leading up to the hearing.

Please keep the complainants in Scotland in your prayers as Father MacKenzie battles on to avoid facing the charges.

Please keep all complainants and victims in your prayers.

Enough for now,

Sylvia

Posted in Accused or charged, Canada, Clerical sexual predators, Scandal | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

New legal calendar

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A fee updates on five upcoming court-dates.  As always, please keep all the victims and complainants in your prayers:

(1)  Barry McGrory

The verdict for the trial of ex-priest and previously convicted molester Barry McGrory is scheduled to be rendered a week from Tuesday:

18 June 2019:  09:00 am, VERDICT, third floor, Ottawa courthouse (161 Elgin St.).

McGrory ,who was ordained as a priest for the Archdiocese of Ottawa, Ontario in 1960, served three months probation in 1993 after leading guilty to sexually assaulting a 17-year-old boy.  In November 2016 he faced the first of several new sex charges.  He was defrocked some time in 2018.

(2) Father Henri Paradis msa

The next court-date for Father Henri Paradis is scheduled for a week from Monday:

17 June 2019:  Laval courthouse ( 2800 Boulevard Saint-Martin O, Laval, Quebec)

Paradis, a priest with the Society of the Missionaries of the Holy Apostles (MSA) was  0rdained 13 May 1972.  He  was charged April 2019.

(3)  Father Cecil Noronha

Father Noronha, a former Salesian priest ordained in India December 1981, became a member of the Voluntas Dei Insitute some time after his arrival in Canada.

In June 2018 Noronha was charged with: Sexual Assault on a Person Under Sixteen Years of Age,  Sexual Interference and  Uttering Threats – Cause Death or Bodily Harm.  At the time the charges were laid Noronha was serving in the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie Ontario.

Father Noronha has a preliminary hearing scheduled for a week from today:

14 June 2019: 10 am, Preliminary Hearing,  Espanola Ontario courthouse (100 Tudhope St, 2nd Fl, Suite 3)

(4)  Father James Robertson

Father James Robertson, a priest with the Diocese of Corner Brook and Labrador, Newfoundland (originally Diocese of St. George Newfoundland), was ordained in 1989 .  Robertson, who was involved in  coordinating the Diocese of St. George’s Newfoundland settlement agreement with victims of clerical sexual abuse.  In April 2019 the RCMP laid charges against Father Robertson in relation to allegations of assault of a student   at a school event in the Bay of Islands before Christmas 2018.

Father Robertson’s next court-date is:

18 June 2019:  09:30, Corner Brook Courthouse 82 Mt. Bernard Avenue, Corner Brook) “for plea”

(5)  Father Malcolm D’Souza

Father Malcolm D’Souza, a priest with the Diocese of Calgary, Alberta and late vocation to the priesthood, was ordained 2002.  In January 2019 sex assault charges were laid related to allegations of sex assault of a woman at St. Mark’s Roman Catholic Church in the Fall of 2012.  Father D’Souza’s next court-date is:

  02 July 2019 :  09:00 am, courtroom # 306, Calgary courthouse (515 6th Ave. SW, Calgary); 21 February  2019:  Calgary Alberta courthouse

*****

You may have noticed the new Legal Calendar.  I have entered the upcoming court dates  of which I am aware.  I will check through files to see if any are missing.

Enough for now,

Sylvia

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Heartbreaking

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The Cardinal Pell appeal continues.   Here is the link to access the live stream coverage of the Pell appeal

This is painful to watch.  Painful.  Unfortunately  I think perhaps the lawyer for the Crown has a speech impediment of some kind?  perhaps a stutter?   Whatever the case, it is very difficult to listen to and/or follow his arguments.  And, sadly, further to that, at this very moment, and if I am hearing correctly, he seems incapable of articulating  why two young teenage boys did not discuss with each other, their  mother, or anyone else, the abuse they endured at the hands of Pell.

Heartbreaking.  In this day and age.  Heartbreaking.

Eventually and thankfully the judges themselves explained that there is now allowance at trials for such matters.

Oh my!   Hopefully I am missing the gems of the Crown  arguments, …

Anyway, I did post a file with several articles regarding the fund-raising which was transpiring last year to pay Pell’s legal costs:

08 May 2018:  “Sydney archdiocese runs ads seeking donations for Cardinal George Pell’s legal fees” & elated articles

As you see, Pell’s defence lawyer daily fees are rumoured to be in the order of $16,000.  Further to that, I have heard – unconfirmed – that the daily fee for Pell’s appeals lawyer is in the range of $22,000!

Are you like me?  Do you ever wonder why a defendant with deep pockets or access to the same can pick the ‘cream of the crop’ while victims must accept the Crown – competent or otherwise – assigned to his/her case?

Is this just?

Is it fair?

Questions. Questions. Questions.

For now, back to the live-stream.

Please keep the victims in your prayers.

Enough for now,

Sylvia

Posted in Accused or charged, Bishops, Cardinal Pell, Clerical sexual predators | Tagged | 1 Comment

Parsed and disected

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For those in Ontario and other areas on Eastern Daylight Time, day two of the Cardinal Pell appeal of his sex abuse conviction will continue this evening at 7:30 pm.

Yesterday’s time was taken by Brett Walker SC, an “appeals specialist” and part of the Pell defence team.  I did watch most of the hearing.  There were times where the live stream ebbed and flowed or disappeared, but on the whole the reception was  good.    As for content, all I can say is there was no lack of talk of “habit,” “custom,” “reasonable doubt,” “extreme probability,” ritual and timing.  It seemed that word after word and comment after comment was parsed and dissected. On and on and on.

Anyway, there are a number of articles here which together provide a fairly good idea of what transpired

05 June 2019:  “Crown expected to mount tough fight against George Pell appeal” & related articles (

Today the Crown will probably counter Walker’s arguments and argue that the jury’s conviction should be upheld.

Again, here is the link to access the live stream coverage of the Pell appeal

A reminder to check your time zone and sort out the time difference between your location and Victoria, Australia.  Here in Ontario it is 14 hours.    We are on Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).  Therefore, for those  in Ontario and all others  in Eastern Daylight time zone the hearings will commence this evening (05 June) at 7:30 pm (09:30 am, 06 June in Victoria, Australia).

Please keep the victims in your prayers,

Enough for now,

Sylvia

Posted in Accused or charged, Bishops, Cardinal Pell, Clerical sexual predators | Tagged , | Leave a comment