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	Abuse Inquiry Hears Letter of Apology Ottawa Sun [Canada] May 30, 2007 http://ottsun.canoe.ca/News/OttawaAndRegion/2007/05/30/4220169.html Cornwall — A witness at an inquiry here read aloud a letter Tuesday in which he believes Rev. Charles MacDonald expressed regret for having sexually assaulted him. The letter, which is dated Dec. 30, 1997, is handwritten and signed, "Sincerely, Charles F." It has not been determined MacDonald was the author of the letter. The man, who cannot be identified under a publication ban, told the inquiry Monday he was sexually assaulted by the priest while the pair were visiting a cottage in Eganville. The man would have been 18 years old at the time of the alleged assault. On Tuesday, the man read the letter into the record at the inquiry, which is probing the institutional response to allegations of systemic sexual abuse in the Cornwall area. "I realize now I should have said or written these words to you a long time ago," the letter reads. "I honestly didn't realize you were hurting." The author of the letter goes on to ask forgiveness for what happened in the past. "What's done is done …amp;quot; but I want to tell you ... that I am very sorry for causing you any hurt or pain," the letter reads. "It was never my intention to hurt you. I wish I could change things but ... again I'm sorry. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me." This was not the first time the letter surfaced at a court hearing. During a preliminary hearing held in 1997, the letter was identified as one piece of evidence which may have been entered by prosecutors if the MacDonald matter had gone to trial. At the time, there were arguments as to whether MacDonald had actually penned the short note. D uring testimony at the inquiry, the authorship of the letter didn't come up at all during cross-examination. "That surprised me," said Dallas Lee, a lawyer who represents The Victims Group at the inquiry. "I thought someone would at least ask that question." Lee, who doesn't represent the witness, decided to enter the document into evidence because he feels it will form an important part of the record of this commission's work. "We have to keep in mind that the focus of this inquiry is the institutional response to allegations made by individuals such as this witness," Lee said. "This document was given to police and the Crown." "How it was received by them, which we will hopefully find out when we examine the response of those institutions, will become very relevant to this inquiry's mandate." MacDonald was charged with a number of sex-related offences in 1996, but those charges were stayed in 2002 when a judge determined it had taken too long to bring the matter to trial. The inquiry continues Wednesday, when it's expected the commission will hear testimony from a woman who says she was repeatedly abused while a ward of the Children's Aid Society.
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