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	Bishop Won't Attend Sylvestre Funeral By Jane Sims London Free Press [Canada] January 26, 2007 http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/CityandRegion/2007/01/26/3452107-sun.html The Roman Catholic Diocese of London is not involved in the funeral arrangements for disgraced priest Charles Sylvestre. Diocese spokesperson Ron Pickersgill also said Bishop Ronald Fabbro will not attend the private service. Sylvestre, 84, pleaded guilty last August to 47 counts of indecent assault involving girls who attended his parishes in Windsor, Sarnia, Chatham and Pain Court and Mount St. Joseph Academy in London over almost four decades. He was sent to prison for three years in October. Sylvestre died Monday in a Kingston prison hospital. Under normal circumstances, a priest's burial would have special prayers and a bishop could preside over it. Rev. Tom Doyle, recognized as a top American expert on canon law, said the private funeral arrangements for Sylvestre reflect "the price that has to be paid for what this man did." Sylvestre still holds the title of priest in death, despite initial efforts made by the diocese to have him defrocked. Doyle said Sylvestre can't be defrocked after death. Fabbro met with Vatican officials last fall and the diocese had sent an application and documentation to begin the defrocking process. Fabbro contacted Rome after Sylvestre died. The decision would have been made by the Vatican. The diocese faces numerous civil lawsuits from women who were victimized by Sylvestre when they were children. Doyle applauded Fabbro's efforts and his commitment toward prevention of sexual abuse by priests. "He is fairly courageous and if he follows through, I will say he is definitely courageous," said Doyle, who testified in the Swales brothers' civil trial in London in 2003. The three brothers sued the diocese after they were sexually abused by Rev. Barry Glendinning while he taught at St. Peter's Seminary. The brothers won a $1.4-million judgment. Doyle echoed Chatham-Kent Crown attorney Paul Bailey's call for the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops to show public support for Fabbro's efforts. "There's no excuse for the way they have treated the victims," Doyle said. The bishops seem to be more concerned about the church's image than the effects abuse has on victims, he said. "The Canadian bishops, like the American bishops for the most part, with the exception of Bishop Fabbro, have not been capable of understanding the immense damage done by sexual abuse." Doyle said the Sylvestre case does not end with his death. "Charlie Sylvestre is a small player in a big game," he said. "The big guys who really have a lot to answer for aren't guys like him ... The ones who knew about it and then re-victimized and made these people suffer even more -- that's where the real evil is."
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