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	Sex Abuse of Children by Catholic Priests Requires Royal Commission to Investigate By Markham Hislop S.E. Calgary News October 5, 2009 http://www.secalgarynews.com/opinion/hammer-time/sex-abuse-of-children-by- catholic-priests-requires-royal-commission-to-investigate/ Last week Raymond Lahey, bishop of Antigonish parish in Nova Scotia, was charged with possession of child pornography after airport officials found images on his laptop computer. Yet another shepard of the Catholic Church caught with his pants down. Once again, children are the victims. It is time for the Canadian government to intervene. Priestly sex scandals against children are an epidemic. There are so many reports worldwide of sexual molestation and rape charges by priests against children it is disheartening. What is even more disheartening are the actions of the Catholic Church.Accuhome Banner Ad As with many large and farflung organizations, there is the official response from HQ, the Vatican, and the unofficial actions that perpetuate the problem. The Church is a signatory to the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child. The Church condemns sexual misconduct by its priests. Clergy can be fired or defrocked if convicted of a sex crime. Officially, the Church is tough on perverted priests. Unofficially, critics charge that the Church protects pedaephile priests and shields them from investigation and conviction of child rape and molestation. The CBC's "The Passionate Eye" ran a documentary by Colm O'Gorman, who was himself raped by a priest at 14, entitled Sex Crimes and the Vatican. O'Gorman alleges a secret document, Crimen Sollicitationis, was issued by the Vatican to all bishops ordering them to keep mum about allegations of sexual abuse. The document was supposedly issued in 1962 and re-issued in 2001 by Cardinal John Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI. O'Gorman follows the cases of four priests accused of raping children. I've seen the documentary, which ran on CBC Newsworld several years ago. The evidence that the Church systematicaly blocked the efforts of American law enforcement to charge one priest, in particular, was especially convincing. I recall an interview with an investigator who described how incriminating documents were shipped to the office of the papal nuncio in New York because it was afforded diplomatic status and therefore outside the jurisdiction of American law. pro-link-mortgages-banner-ad Which brings us back to Bishop Lahey. The only reason he was caught is because he flew into Ottawa from Europe and eagle-eyed security officials spotted suspicious images on his laptop. Lahey was caught red-handed. No sweeping the incident under the rug, no change to transfer the bishop to a country that has no extradition treaty with Canada, like the Vatican. According to news stories, there have been hints that the good shepard liked child porn for a quarter of a century. I find it incredulous that Lahey's perversion was entirely unknown to others in the Church. Maybe it could be the case, but not likely. What is even more incredible is that Lahey was for the past 30 years involved in one way or another with the many sex scandals involving the Church in the Maritimes. He even negotiated the financial settlement for the victims of one abusive priest. How profound is the hypocrisy when the Church official meets by day with victims of a priest's twisted sexual desires, then by night indulges his own? braesidebannerad Consumers of child pornography may not violate the child themselves, but they create the demand for it and are, therefore, just as guilty as if they had. It should be said that Lahey has not been convicted of the offence of which he is accused. But he has already resigned his bishopric, which may not be an admission of guilt, but certainly looks incriminating. If a man as respected as Raymond Lahey is a consumer of child pornography, can Canadians have any faith that there aren't dozens, maybe hundreds, more in the Church just like him? If Lahey's case was isolated, I would side with the Church. Though not a believer myself, I respect the desire of others to find truth where they can. As long as relgion remains divorced from politics and the exercise of government power, I support the right of religious believers to organize into bodies like the Catholic Church. ronda-bertram-banner-ad But I have come, reluctantly, to the conclusion that the Catholic Church is not able, perhaps is not even willing at its highest level of authority, to root out paedophile priests. It is time for the civil authorities to step in. One child raped or molested is too many. In the case of the Catholic Church of Canada there have been many, many over the years; and, it appears, the abuse continues, perhaps though more secretively now than before, when priests ran residential schools and orphanages and had a ready supply of victims at hand. A Royal Commission on the sexual abuse of children by Roman Catholic priests in Canada is required. Its work can begin with the most obvious cases, the schools and orphanages and any other institutions run by the Church that was charged with the care of children. But its most important work would be investigating any cover ups the Church might have undertaken to shield its priests from exposure and possible conviction under the law. Such a Royal Commission would be dubbed a witch hunt by its opponents. But if the Church has nothing to hide why would it be reluctant to cooperate? In fact, it would have everything to gain. It could publicly repent for any cases brought to light, thereby allowing it to reconcile with its victims. The Church's reputation could be rehabilitated; many non-Catholics now think of the Church as little more than safe harobur for perverts and paedophiles. Most importantly, shining a spot light on the issue may finally help the Church purge its organization of priests who conduct their perversions behind the cloak of respectability and secrecy afforded by the Roman collar. After all, the victims here are children, society's most defenceless and vulnerable members. Ottawa spends tens of millions of dollars to investigate advertising scams, why can't it spend a few more to protect kids from the brutal trauma of sexual abuse?
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