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	Parishioners: "I Guess That’s Why He Resigned" By Mary Ellen The Chronicle-Herald October 1, 2009 http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/1145249.html ANTIGONISH — Residents in this largely Roman Catholic town reacted with shock Wednesday after hearing that Bishop Raymond Lahey, their former religious leader, had been charged with possessing and importing child pornography. One man said it was like getting hit with a ton of bricks. "I can’t even imagine he would do such a thing," said the man, who stopped to talk on the main street of Antigonish. Bishop Lahey resigned over the weekend, weeks after helping to broker a $15-million settlement with victims of sexual abuse by priests in the Diocese of Antigonish going back to 1950. A warrant is out for the bishop’s arrest. "No wonder he quit over the weekend," said the Antigonish man’s companion. Both men declined to give their names. "Oh, no, I won’t be able to hold my head up in this town," the first man said with a laugh. An elderly woman paused before she responded to the news. "Well, I guess that’s why he resigned," she said. "It’s a damn shame — that’s what it is. "There’s a lot of things I could say right now, but let’s not judge too quickly." Many people approached Wednesday afternoon had not yet heard that Bishop Lahey had been charged with child pornography crimes. None of the allegations have been proven in court. Cape George resident Shirley Nicholson, a Catholic, said she was stunned. "I’m absolutely shocked," she said. She said Catholics in the diocese need to come together and talk to each other about how the sexual abuse issue, including the settlement with victims, is affecting parishioners. "We must listen to each other in order to get to the bottom of what this is all about," she said. Someone in each parish "has to take leadership and they have to call the members of the parish in to talk about it." A former nun who left the sisterhood decades ago to get married and start a family said she has rejected the church for good. "It adds to the travesty of justice that has been going on," Mary-Louise Samson said in a telephone interview. "He apologized to all the people who have been hurt and offered a settlement, knowing that he (allegedly) was one of them as well." That was the last straw for her. "I will never reject God because I have great faith in God," said the resident of Petit de Grat, Richmond County. "But I will tell you one thing, so far as the church, the building, is concerned and all the ones who are at the top of it today, for me it is the end. I definitely will not give another penny to the church or attend church." And Ms. Samson’s ties with the church run deep. She became a nun at 17 and remained with the sisterhood for six years before leaving. In the 50 years since, the grandmother of five has always considered herself a devout Catholic. She served as parish council president for years. "Today I feel betrayed," she said. "I feel extremely betrayed by the hierarchy of the church." Ms. Samson said she received many calls Wednesday from very disappointed parishioners. "I think it will have a huge impact on the church," she said. And one place the church will take a hit is in the pocketbook, she said. Bernice Logan, a devout Anglican from Tangier whose husband was a clergyman, said the charges horrified her. "I’m Anglican but I feel so sorry for the Roman Catholic people who are hearing this," she said. "I don’t think they’ll ever lose their faith but . . . they can’t be proud of the church when these things happen." Ms. Logan, who wrote a letter to The Chronicle Herald opposing the recent decision to have the diocese be responsible for paying the multimillion-dollar settlement to victims of sexual abuse, said the trust that people have in their religious leaders is important. "That’s the sadness of the whole thing," she said. "I feel very sorry for the church in general." With Davene Jeffrey, Dan Arsenault and Michael Lightstone, staff reporters. Contact: mmacintyre@herald.ca
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