BishopAccountability.org
	Rick's Rants Thursday October 1st/09 Breaking News Print This Article By Rick Howe Halifax News Net October 1, 2009 http://www.halifaxnewsnet.ca/index.cfm?sid=291228&sc=612 The arrest of the former bishop of Antigonish on child pornography charges is certainly quite the shocker. But a police officer involved in investigating computer sex crimes told me last evening he wasn't surprised, saying those involved with child porn come from all walks of life. "It could be anyone," he said. Still, a bishop. That's heavy duty. The charges against Raymond Lahey were laid last Friday after officers with the Canada Border Services Agency had earlier discovered images "of concern" on his laptop at the Ottawa airport following a trip stateside. News of the charges only became public yesterday. Lahey had tendered his resignation as bishop Saturday, telling his parishioners he needed time for "personal renewal." Now we know the real reason behind the resignation. And to make matters worse, an arrest warrant for Lahey's been issued and his whereabouts are unknown. He's a fugitive. Police are now looking for him. Asked by CTV's Steve Murphy last night about where Lahey might be, Halifax Archbishop Anthony Mancini, who admitted he talked to Lahey earlier in the day, said he did not know, though he beleived Lahey was still in Canada. I hope the Roman Catholic church isn't withholding information about this man. If anyone in the church knows where he is, they should inform police. And if Lahey really wants to make amends, he'll turn himself in. Question. How can the church expect people to keep the faith, when incidents involving priests and sexual abuse have become all too common? Lahey had earlier in September helped broker a deal that will see the diocese of Antigonish pay out $13 million in compensation to victims of sexual abuse by its priests going back to 1950. Lawyer John McKiggan's law firm had organized a class action lawsuit against the diocese and began running radio ads today calling on anyone who might have been victimized to come forward and, if their claim is valid, get a share of that money. McKiggan says the news about Lahey's child porn charges will not affect the settlement. The drama's now over for all involved in the military court martial of a Nova Scotia reservist charged with killing his tent-mate in Afghanistan. Cpl Matthew Wilcox was sentenced yesterday to 4 years in jail and will be kicked out of the army after his conviction on charges of criminal negligence causing death and negligent performance of a military duty in the death of Cpl Kevin Megeney in 2007. The court martial determined it was the result of a game of quick draw to see who could draw their weapons the fastest. Unfortunately, Wilcox's gun was loaded. Megeney's family believes justice has been done. I'm not so sure I'd be so forgiving. Wilcox will spend the next 30 days in a military prison, likely in Edmonton, before he's transfered to a civilian penitentiary. He is planning an appeal. What's this I hear about a decision to bring back the overnight winter parking ban this winter? How can such a decision be made now, when we have no idea about the severity of the coming winter months? I think it has more to do with making money for the city than anything else. HRM raked in over $400,000 in fines from last year's ban. Easy money. I'm told the small group of people who turned out to a city sponsored information meeting last night about HRM's winter operations were a little testy with the bureaucrats. Many called for a program similar to Montreal's where cars are able to park on one side of a street one night, and the other side the next night during the winter months. But our decision makers seem more interested in making life miserable for us all. Take the coming repair work on the Fairview overpass that starts Monday. The province has refused a request to allow for two lanes coming into the city during the morning rush hour and two lanes out on the drive home. Instead there will be just one lane inbound during the 6 months of construction work. Can you say gridlock? Some preliminary work yesterday saw inbound traffic down to one lane and it was a mess. Traffic spilled over onto the Bi-Hi as well jamming things up there. 6 months of this crap await us. Have a great day. Get involved. And if you're not outraged, you're not paying attention.
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