CANADA
Western
By DEBORAH GYAPONG
Canadian Catholic News
Ottawa
A Canadian priest, believed to be the first Vatican official charged with sexual abuse, could face more charges and extradition from Italy if he does not respond to police requests to return.
Msgr. Bernard Prince, 71, was charged last October following a complaint laid in May 2005 by a man who alleged the priest sexually assaulted him 35 years ago when he was 12 years old.
Alleged incident
The incident was alleged to have taken place in 1969 during a retreat in Prince's cabin in Wilno, about 130 km west of Ottawa in the Pembroke Diocese, where Prince was ordained in 1963.
"There are other complaints and allegations that have been brought forward by separate people and those are still under investigation," Sgt. Kristine Rae-Cholette told CCN in a Feb. 7 phone interview from Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) eastern region headquarters in Smith's Falls.
"The complainants are from different areas throughout Ontario," she said. "Until the investigations on those are done, I can't give a number."