BishopAccountability.org
	Bernard Prince Dismissed As a Priest Daily Observer August 25, 2009 http://www.thedailyobserver.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1714189 The Diocese of Pembroke has been advised that on May 4, 2009 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a decree conveying and executing the decision of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, in which Bernard Prince of the Diocese of Pembroke has been dismissed from the clerical state and dispensed from all priestly obligations. The decree indicated that there is no appeal of this decision. This notification is being issued to provide clarity regarding the canonical status of Bernard Prince. In January, 2008, Bernard Prince was found guilty of sexual misconduct. He is currently serving a four-year sentence in a federal penitentiary having been found guilty of sexually abusing 13 boys nearly 25 years ago. The former Roman Catholic priest, who was once a Vatican official, pleaded guilty to 12 charges and not guilty to the 13th. His name has joined those of other sex offenders listed on a national registry. A sample of his DNA will also be placed on a data bank alongside that of other known criminals. When released from prison he will be under a lifetime ban prohibiting him from being near any child under the age of 14. The boys, who are now men ranging in age from 40 to 57, were sexually abused at the priest's Wilno cottage and Ottawa apartment. At the time of the incidents, the boys, all from devout Roman Catholic families, ranged in age from 12 to 16 years. Ordained in 1963, Msgr. Prince served in Wilno from 1985 to 1986 and held various administration positions in Catholic institutions in Ottawa and Toronto before moving to the Vatican in Rome in 1992. He remained there until his retirement in 2004. The London law firm of Ledroit Beckett has announced a $22-million lawsuit against Msgr. Prince and the Diocese of Pembroke. The civil suit, filed by lawyer Rob Talach of Ledroit Beckett, names the diocese alleging it was aware of allegations against Msgr. Prince as early as 1968 but did nothing.
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