CANADA
Ottawa Sun
Tue, March 28, 2006
CORNWALL -- An inquiry into the persistent allegations of child sexual abuse that have dogged this city for decades could collapse if it decides to exclude the local Catholic diocese from its purview, lawyers for alleged victims warned yesterday.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall wants be excluded on the grounds that it's not a public institution and therefore not part of the inquiry's mandate to examine how agencies like police and child-welfare authorities responded to the allegations.
Rob Talach, a lawyer for a group of alleged victims of abuse, said the diocese is a fundamental part of the whole story and needs to be represented at the inquiry.
"The Church was deeply involved in this from the beginning," Talach said.