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	Class-Action Filed against N.s. Catholic Diocese Montreal Gazette June 25, 2008 http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=55554a94-3ce7-4bab-bec1-c5f843d29745 ANTIGONISH, N.S. - A class-action lawsuit has been filed against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish for compensation for alleged victims of sexual abuse by priests from the diocese. The Roman Catholic Church, the bishop of Antigonish and the diocese "kept the priests' sexual deviance secret and failed to warn or protect children within the diocese," states a release on the website of Halifax lawyer John McKiggan, who represents the plaintiff, Ronald Martin. Martin's brother, David, committed suicide six years ago, leaving behind a note that alleged he had been sexually abused by Father Hugh Vincent MacDonald, a former priest of the Antigonish Diocese. A criminal investigation by the RCMP and the Cape Breton Regional Police led to charges of rape, buggery and indecent assault against MacDonald, involving more than 15 children in incidents spanning the 1960s and 70s. MacDonald died in 2004 before the case against him was concluded. The release on McKiggan's website says several priests from the Antigonish Diocese have been previously convicted of sexually abusing children. Martin says he was motivated to file the class action to obtain "an acceptance of responsibility for what happened to David, to us and all the others who had been abused by a representative of the church." The claim, filed Tuesday, is the first class action in Nova Scotia filed under the province's new Class Proceedings Act.
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