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	Bishop 'Flustered' When He Said Priest Confessed to Abuse: Shaver Then Larocque Told Shaver Priest Was Only Referring to Being Gay, Not Committing Abuse By Trevor Pritchard Standard-Freeholder June 11, 2008 http://www.standard-freeholder.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1070018 The one-time bishop of the local Roman Catholic diocese blurted out to former top cop Claude Shaver that a priest suspected of sexual abuse admitted to an "assault," the Cornwall Public Inquiry heard Wednesday. But Eugene LaRocque immediately backtracked, said Shaver, and explained that Rev. Charles MacDonald was only referring to being homosexual — not sexually abusing David Silmser. "He was flustered when he phoned me," said Shaver, who ran the Cornwall Police Service from 1984 to 1994. "He was absolutely flustered. I could hear it in his voice." On Oct. 7, 1993, Shaver and another officer paid visits to both LaRocque and Archbishop Carlo Curis, the pope's representative in Canada, to discuss what should happen with MacDonald, a former city priest. Silmser had gone to police in 1992 alleging that MacDonald abused him while he was an altar boy decades earlier. The case was closed in September 1993 after Silmser and the diocese agreed to a $32,000 settlement. Shaver testified Wednesday he first went to Curis because the force had found LaRocque difficult during an earlier sexual abuse investigation involving a diocesan priest. But this time, LaRocque was "extremely friendly," said Shaver. The two spoke for about an hour, said Shaver. While LaRocque had known about the settlement, Shaver said he was taken aback to learn police had interviewed two other potential victims of MacDonald during the Silmser investigation. "That literally shook the bishop," said Shaver. "He was very concerned at that stage of the game." LaRocque seemed sympathetic towards Silmser, and pledged to speak with MacDonald later that day, Shaver said. When the two talked again that evening, Shaver said LaRocque told him MacDonald had admitted to an "isolated homosexual relationship" and would be sent to the Southdown Institute, a Toronto-area rehabilitation centre for Christian priests. But Shaver's version of the call seemed to contradict his own notes and a letter he later sent to his lawyer, said lead commission counsel Peter Engelmann. Shaver had scrawled "Charlie admits" in a personal calendar the day of his conversation with LaRocque. In the undated letter, Shaver wrote: "The Bishop contacted me later and advised that the Priest had committed the assault and that it was an isolated incident." That could only be taken one way, suggested Engelmann: that MacDonald had told the bishop he abused Silmser. Shaver was adamant that LaRocque had simply misspoke, and said he would give the same version of events when he testified at the inquiry, which is probing how institutions like the CPS handled historical sexual abuse investigaitons. "If there had been an admission, if the bishop had told me that (MacDonald abused Silmser) that evening, we would have reopened the file that night," Shaver said. MacDonald was later charged by the OPP with sexually abusing a number of young boys. The charges were stayed in 2002 after a judge found they'd taken too long to come to trial, and MacDonald has always maintained his innocence. At least five previous inquiry witnesses had testified they saw Shaver at the homes of two other alleged abusers, Ken Seguin and Malcolm MacDonald (no relation to Charles MacDonald). Malcolm MacDonald, a former lawyer, had been charged in the OPP's four-year Project Truth probe into rumours a pedophile ring was operating in the area. Neither man was ever convicted: Seguin committed suicide in 1993 and was never charged, while Malcolm MacDonald died of a heart attack in 1999. The claims against Shaver appeared at projecttruth.com, a now-defunct website that posted the affidavits of a number of proven and alleged abuse victims. Appearing on the verge of tears, Shaver wiped his eyes and at one point muttered "God damn!" as he told inquiry Comm. Normand Glaude how difficult it was to have those allegations follow him online. In a prepared statement, Shaver said he "categorically" denied the accusations made by Ron Leroux, one of the five men who said they saw him in MacDonald and Seguin's company. He also testified that anyone who said he associated with pedophiles either mistook him for someone else or was coerced into making the statements. "I have lost personal friends, who told me they don't believe the information," said Shaver, before pausing. Then, his voice rising an octave: "But they have children and they say it's better to be safe than sorry." Shaver urged the commissioner — who will likely be issuing his final report sometime in 2009 — to recommend it be illegal to post false allegations about others on the Internet. He said a quick Internet search of his name would reveal he was mentioned in Leroux's affidavit. "Sadly, in today's society, the Internet has become the breeding ground for false information and unsubstantiated accusations," Shaver said. "And there is no effective legal protection that an individual has against such lies except to commence a civil action." Leroux recanted a number of allegations in his affidavit when he was on the stand last year. Shaver is set to continue testifying this morning. "Sadly, in today's society, the Internet has become the breeding ground for false information."
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