Halifax Sexual Abuse Claims Blog

I just watched the CBC’s documentary “The Good Father” about one of the worst pedophile priests in Canadian history, Charles Sylvestre.
The heartbreaking stories of Sylvestre’s victims are similar to those I have heard from the many sexual abuse survivors that I have represented. Watching the documentary one finds it incredible that Sylvestre could openly sexually abuse hundreds of little girls, that the Church knew about the sexual abuse for four decades, and did NOTHING to protect the children in Sylvestre’s parishes.
You can watch the documentary online here.
The unfortunate fact is that the Church’s cover up of Sylvestre’s abuse appears to be more the rule than the exception.
You can learn about Pope John XXIII’s instructions to maintain a policy of “strictest secrecy” about sexual abuse by priests on the Clerical Whispers blog or you can read it yourself here:

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If anyone had any doubt about the lengths to which the RC church will go to prevent disclosure of sexual abuse by priests, take a look at this story.

Talk about excessive! The Archdiocese of St. Louis has sued a law firm that represents victims of sexual abuse.
I guess the Diocese must think the best defence is a good offense. They are right…it is pretty offensive…

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I found an interesting blog the other day about the “uncomfortable truth and news from the inside” of the RC Church in Ireland. The blog, titled “Clerical Whispers” is written, supposedly, by an RC priest who goes by the pen name Sotto Voce.
While the blog covers any news dealing with the RC Church, it also contains links and posts dealing specifically with the problem (crisis?) of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.
Take a look at http://clericalwhispers.blogspot.com

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The Roman Catholic Diocese of London, Ontario has drafted a code of conduct with the goal of:

“…the prevention of sexual abuse, the protection of the vulnerable, the pastoral care of those wounded by misconduct, along with the protection of the rights of the accused and the appropriate action toward those who have committed sexual misconduct.”

You can read the report, and learn how to submit your comments, here: www.rcec.london.on.ca/abuse/draft%20policy.htm
The policy requires that ALL complaints of sexual abuse against a minor MUST be reported to the Children’s Aid Society. The draft goes on to state:

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A recent story on CNN.com caught my attention. CNN Headline News anchor Thomas Roberts described the abuse he suffered as a teenager at the hands of Father Jeff Toohey.What struck me was Thomas’s statement about his decision to publicly talk about the abuse he had suffered:I was scared. I was scared of being so honest and televising this journey. What would people think? Would I ruin my career? But I came to the conclusion that I will not be scared anymore. I will not be scared of telling the truth because it might be uncomfortable for people to hear.
If this story compels even one person to seek help for being sexually abused, then it is all worth it. All it takes is telling one person. From there, strength grows and you can tell a second person and so on. Then you can finally have control of your life back.I commend Mr. Thomas for his courage. You can read the whole story here. In my practice representing sexual abuse survivors I cannot count the number of times that a survivor has told me that their healing began the first time they disclosed to someone what had happened to them.Child abusers prey on their victims’ fears. Their fears of what family and friends will think of them; their fears that people will not believe them. Child abusers are able to destroy people’s lives because of a wall of silence. The only thing that can break down that wall is for victims of sexual abuse to tell someone!Here’s a link to the Government of Canada’s Directory of Services for Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse.

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