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	Gervais: Book Teaches Lessons from Sylvestre Abuse By Marty Gervais The Windsor Star November 18, 2008 http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=d89889fb-86c5-49d7-b6a4-9c63edd1f3ae Paul Bailey expected that after meeting 84-year-old Rev. Charles Sylvestre face-to-face in prison he'd come away "hating him." Instead, the Crown attorney, who prosecuted the case against the priest, walked away believing Sylvestre was a man incapable of understanding the harm he wreaked on the 47 young girls he abused over nearly 40 years. After the trial and sentencing, Bailey stopped in to see Sylvestre at the Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre in London with a request to interview him, and assured the aging priest he wasn't obliged to say anything. "I had wanted to know what he was thinking, and I came away from that interview not hating him," Bailey said. "I really he felt he was a hollow man. He was not capable of appreciating what he had done. "There was nothing to hate." Sylvestre spoke candidly, holding nothing back. That is part of the Crown attorney's message that one finds in this newest document to come out about this historic case of sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church. The book, From Isolation to Action: Child Sexual Abuse By Clergy, released by a Chatham-based group of the same name, From Isolation To Action (FITA), seeks to provide support for the survivors of child sexual abuse by clergy. The group is made up of Bailey, members of the Chatham-Kent and Sarnia-Lambton sexual assault centres, as well as Sister Eleanor Gleeson general superior of the Chatham Ursuline Sisters, Rev. Daniel Vere of St. Ursula's Church and two members of the Roman Catholic Diocese of London. Bailey said this guide, which has financial backing from Ontario's Ministry of the Attorney General, is meant for use by "Crown attorneys, court staff, victim/witnesses workers, police, bishops and community partners and other professionals" who work with such victims. It has been sent to every bishop in Canada, and was forwarded to the Vatican at the urging of Bishop Ronald Fabbro of the London Diocese. Bailey's hope is that it would also be distributed to every bishop in the U.S. through the American Conference of Catholic Bishops. After the trial, and the subsequent death of Sylvestre three months into his sentence, Bailey felt "something more had to be done" with respect to prevention. He maintained that as long as there is opportunity to abuse again, it would happen, no matter how many priests are thrown in jail.Jail time has proven to be no deterrent, Bailey said. Fabbro, who provides a prologue to this book, described how heartbreaking it was for him to read the statements of the victims. He said this is what prompted him to meet with the congregation at St. Ursula's in Chatham in August 2006 to apologize "for the failure of the church to protect them (the victims) from Father Sylvestre." Fabbro also praised FITA for the manual, calling it "an incredible accomplishment which will benefit others to have to deal with the evil of sexual abuse." Bailey praised Fabbro's support as "a light in the darkness" coming from the church. Among items included in the manual are details related to the Sylvestre case as it went through court, psychologists' reports, words from survivors, and information on educational and awareness workshops for priests and diocese members working with minors. Bailey also speaks about this rare interview he had with Sylvestre. It was likely the last one given by the priest. From that dialogue, Bailey concluded that "Sylvestre was incapable of appreciating the damage that he had done, and that was why he seemed so uncaring. He couldn't understand it." Bailey said Sylvestre blamed the girls for conspiring to tempt him. "He blamed them even when he was doing this.... He molested one girl at her school, and then got very angry at her and called her Mary Magdalene." Bailey said Sylvestre also blamed Fabbro, contending the bishop had no business lifting the "gag order" on Irene Deschenes, one of the survivors of this priest's abuse. "Sylvestre also blamed the girls for sitting up in chairs and dangling their legs," said Bailey. "He could hear them talking and heard them planning what they were going to do. And he blamed his confessor when he told him that he was having these 'bad thoughts,' and he blamed the seminary for not teaching him about sex." In the end, Sylvestre, according to Bailey, blamed everyone but himself. "I asked him if he had any message for the survivors, and he said, 'Tell them I am doing my penance.... I will be forgiven."
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