BishopAccountability.org
	Former Bishop Provides Some Intriguing Testimony By Claude Mcintosh Standard Freeholder August 16, 2008 http://www.standard-freeholder.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1159536 Eugene LaRocque, former bishop of Cornwall-Alexandria Diocese, looked anything but comfortable during his first four days on the witness stand at the Cornwall Public Inquiry. It was anything but a stellar performance. On the fourth day the inquiry adjourned early when a haggard-looking LaRocque informed Commissioner Normand Glaude he was too tired to continue. LaRocque is, after all, 81 years old. He returns to the stand on Aug. 25 when the inquiry resumes and one has to wonder if he can weather five straight days of being on the hot seat. One thing the bishop has going for him is an extremely talented lawyer -- David Sherriff-Scott -- as his cornerman. LaRocque clearly looked like a man who would rather be back in his Windsor-area home. Nevertheless, parts of his testimony were intriguing. Especially when it came to describing his working relationship with an underling, Rev. Gilles Deslauriers, banished from the diocese after pleading guilty to sexual assault only to resurface in a Gatineau parish. The former bishop described Deslauriers as a master manipulator and that he was under the rogue priest's control. Those who "dealt" with Eugene LaRocque over the years can be excused if they choke on that piece of testimony.The book on the towering bishop was that he was autocratic -- not an easy man to manipulate. Perhaps Father Deslauriers missed his real calling -- selling Florida swamp land. Just as intriguing was testimony that an American priest landed in Cornwall after being declared persona nongrata by his U. S. bishop for messing around with young boys. The priest -- a classic bad actor -- not only got work with the Alexandria-Cornwall Diocese, but was given a federal ministerial permit . . . and it would be extended by the immigration minister of the day. LaRocque made a horrible error in judgment by hiring the U. S. priest, but a bigger question is how in Hades the guy got a work permit . . . not once, but twice. * Hanging out on golf courses with the rich and famous is old hat for Ed Lumley. So why was Lum "frightened to death" about playing a round at the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club Wednesday? His partner in the pro-am charity event was Annika Sorenstam, one of the world's best female golfers. Lum didn't know who he was playing with until he showed up on Tuesday. "I said 'you've got to be kidding,'" said Lumley. Then he started thinking about former president Gerald Ford. Ford? He once slammed a ball into the gallery during a pro-am event. With Dane Fitzpatrick, son of Cornwall CAO Paul Fitzpatrick, serving as his caddy, Lumley finished the 18 holes without terrorizing anyone in the large gallery. As for the once-in-a-lifetime experience of playing with Sorenstam, "A very nice lady," said Lum. COFFEE GRINDS For what it's worth -- A solution to the cash flow problems at the ministry of eduction might be to abolish the ministry and turn the operation over to the highly profit-motivated Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and their hatchetmen . . . and let them deal with the latest contract squabble -- a funding gap -- in their usual chop-chop manner. Think there is any chance of convincing golden boy Michael Phelps that Canada is a great place to live? And if Phelps doesn't bite, how about that medal winner from Togo? Here we are, two or three months before a threatened fall federal election and the local Liberals still don't know who their candidate will be. For Super Guy, the once powerful local Liberal organization has become the gift that keeps on giving.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.