Quote:
As reported in the Globe & Mail
As in the United States, Canadian survivors charge that the church in Canada simply shuffles abusers around — sometimes to another country — when their misdeeds come to light.
"Nothing will change until the church does something. So far, it's done diddly squat," said an angry John Caruso, who was abused by Rev. James Kneale in Fort Erie, Ont., in 1985. Mr. Caruso filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the priest, who was relocated after his 1999 conviction. In a bizarre twist, Father Kneale has sued Mr. Caruso's parents, claiming they were at fault for allowing their son to spend time with him.
In Orillia, parishioners at the Guardian Angels Church were asked to pray for Rev. Hugh MacDonald by the diocese, which called the allegations against him a "painful situation."
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The Church must stop treating the
allegations and revelations of abuse as the problem. The Church has to stop treating pedophilia as a moral failure of the clergy, and a breach of their vow of celebacy. The Church has to recognize sexual abuse of children as a crime. Crimes by individuals who are clergy should be prosecuted. If other individuals within the Church obstruct justice they should be prosecuted.
Unfortunately, there is no moral clarity in the leadership of the Church with regard to sexual abuse of children by clergy. The Church
struggles with the moral issues and often ignores the criminal issues. The Church is more concerned about the implications of the
scandal for the institution and the clergy generally, and sometimes even the guilty clergy, than it is for the victims of abuse. Sad but true.