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	Bishop Faces Child Pornography Charges By Ruth Gledhill The Times October 2, 2009 http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article6857509.ece Roman Catholic bishop in Canada has handed himself into the police after child pornography was discovered on his computer A Roman Catholic bishop in Canada, who resigned after child pornography was discovered on his computer, has handed himself into the police, according to reports last night. When Raymond Lahey, 69, resigned as Bishop of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, on Wednesday, he told Catholics he was taking time out for “personal renewal”. In his formal resignation letter, he said he was resigning for “personal reasons”. But it emerged later that when he was returning from a trip to the US last month, customs officials at Ottawa airport had conducted random search of his laptop and found child pornography images. The former bishop, who in spite of his resignation remains a priest in Catholic canon law, faces charges of possessing and importing child pornography. In an interview with Canada’s CTV, Ottawa police constable Alain Boucher said: "When he arrived in Canada, the Border Services examined his computer, which led them to believe that there may be something for us to examine. "The computer was turned over to us, it was examined by our investigators and it took some time to figure out what kind of images were in there, what we were dealing with and then once that was settled, the charges were laid and subsequently a warrant was issued for his arrest." Lahey recently oversaw a US$12million settlement in a lawsuit brought by more than 12 victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests in Antigonish. Some allegations dated back to 1950. At a press conference about the case earlier this summer, he said: "I want them to know how terribly sorry we are, how wrong this abuse was, and how we are now attempting to right those wrongs.” He said he hoped never again to have to deal with such “reprehensible” behaviour. "Money can never compensate fully, but we are trying ... to be fair, responsible, respectful and, most of all, compassionate." A spokesman for the diocese, where Lahey had been bishop since 2003, said he could not “underestimate the pain and sorrow” this latest scandal would cause but insisted it would not lead to a loss of faith among Catholics. Canada, like the US and Ireland, has been torn by sex abuse scandals in the Catholic Church. They include Archbishop Alphonsus Penny of Newfoundland, who resigned in February 1991 after being accused of not acting to prevent sexual abuse of boys at an orphanage in his diocese. Five years later, Bishop Hubert O’Connor of the Prince George diocese was sentenced by a court to two and a half years in prison for sexually abusing two adolescents who were students under his supervision at a school in the 1960s. The Catholic Church has recognised its responsibility in sexual abuse cases, including those involving aboriginal children at boarding schools operated by the Church on behalf of the federal government beginning in the late 1800s. In April this year, during a visit to the Holy See by a delegation of Canadian aboriginal leaders, Pope Benedict XVI said he regretted the abuse scandals abuses and described the conduct of those responsible as “deplorable”.
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