By Patricia Brooks Arenburg
The Chronicle-Herald
October 9, 2009
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/1146787.html
 |
| Philip Latimer, right, holds a childhood photo of himself on Thursday during a news conference in Halifax. Mr. Latimer and his brother Warren, left, allege they were sexually abused by Father Allan MacDonald Photo by CHRISTIAN LAFORCE / Staff |
Church hit with $2-million lawsuit after new claims of sex abuse at hands of priest
The two brothers spoke to their wives but never told each other what they endured as altar boys.
That is, until this week.
"I thought I was alone," Philip Latimer said.
Philip and Warren Latimer told reporters at a news conference Thursday in Halifax that Rev. Allan MacDonald, a former priest at St. Paul’s Parish in the Diocese of Antigonish, had sexually abused them.
Father MacDonald has since died.
The brothers say the abuse started at about age 11, while they were altar boys at St. Paul’s Parish in the Catholic community of Havre Boucher, and continued for a few years.
Philip Latimer told reporters that back then he was a boy looking to get into heaven to be with a friend who died when they were in Grade 1, and he said the priest lured him with trips to hockey games, free pizza and beer.
Now 47, the married father of three said he didn’t come forward until he heard the news that Bishop Raymond Lahey had been charged with possessing and importing child pornography.
 |
| Childhood photos of the Latimer brothers lie scattered on a desk near a photo of Father Allan MacDonald. Photo by CHRISTIAN LAFORCE / Staff |
The former head of the troubled diocese was instrumental in reaching the $15-million settlement between the church and sexual abuse victims from the diocese.
"I had been keeping track of it, putting it out of my mind as best I could, but when the man that orchestrated the deal was no different than the man that committed the crime, allegedly, . . . that did it. That did it for me," Philip Latimer said.
He said he tried to contact the lawyer representing the other abuse victims in the settlement, but that lawyer was away on vacation.
Mr. Latimer then contacted Ledroit Beckett, an Ontario law firm representing alleged victims of abuse in a separate case against the Archdiocese of Halifax and the Diocese of Yarmouth.
He said it is troubling that Bishop Lahey, the Archdiocese of Halifax and the Diocese of Antigonish will be able to put the alleged abuse behind them when the $15-million settlement is finalized in the other lawsuit.
But Mr. Latimer said some victims may be left out in the cold if they miss the Dec. 4 deadline to participate in that settlement.
"And then the victims are left in a helpless state."
Warren Latimer found out about his brother’s abuse from one of their sisters on Monday. When the brothers spoke, they didn’t discuss the details of their alleged abuse.
Nancy Latimer, Philip’s wife of 24 years, said she didn’t know the details of her husband’s abuse until she read some of them in the lawsuit he filed in Nova Scotia Supreme Court earlier this week.
"To read what he went through, I had no idea what he went through," she said.
 |
| Warren Latimer, left, holds his head while his brother Philip speaks with news media Thursday about their alleged abuse at the hands of their childhood priest, Father Allan MacDonald. Philip Latimer is suing the Catholic Church, claiming officials were negligent in their failure to supervise the priest and protect children from abuse. Photo by CHRISTIAN LAFORCE / Staff |
When he first told her over two decades ago, "it was just ‘I was molested, assaulted sexually,’ and that was it," she said. "It was never discussed again, and to read this, it’s very stressful."
Her husband, a welder from Pleasant Hill, Inverness County, is seeking $2 million in damages from the Diocese of Antigonish and the Archdiocese of Halifax for the abuse he claims he suffered at the hands of the priest.
None of the allegations contained in the lawsuit or discussed at the news conference have been proven in court.
Marilyn Sweet, a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Halifax, said the church is not commenting on the allegations.
Father MacDonald was ordained in 1940 and served from 1955 to 1999 in St. Paul’s Parish in Havre Boucher.
He was respected by Philip Latimer’s parents, who allowed their son to ride in the cleric’s car and stay unsupervised with him overnight.
The lawsuit says the alleged abuse included fondling, masturbation and "other sexual activities." It states that Father MacDonald also "engaged in a pattern of behaviour" intended to make the young boy feel special in the eyes of God and "to make the plaintiff feel that his soul was in jeopardy, and that (he) would suffer eternally in Hell, if he did not obey Father MacDonald’s commands."
Philip Latimer claims both the diocese and archdiocese were negligent in their duties and liable. The diocese was responsible for supervising the priest and it was the archdiocese’s duty to oversee the diocese, the lawsuit claims.
"If the diocese did not know, . . . it was because of the existence of its own rules, principles and ideologies which allowed Father MacDonald to conceal his activities and cover up his deviant behaviour," the lawsuit said.
In his lawsuit, Philip Latimer lists three pages of consequences stemming from the alleged abuse ranging from mental anguish to loss of religious beliefs to sexual problems, alcoholism, depression and suicidal thoughts. He no longer goes to church.
He said he is not filing this lawsuit for the money, telling reporters he could have collected somewhere in the vicinity of $170,000 without going public. But he wants the church to fully account for what happened to him and others who may have been abused.
His brother Warren hasn’t yet decided if he will join Philip’s lawsuit. His own family is still adjusting to the news. He just told his children, 12 and 14, this week.
"The first reaction of my daughter was she slapped me in the face for coming forward. She was embarrassed," Warren Latimer said.
"It’s a reaction. She’s young. I don’t hold any grudges to her. She’s a beautiful little girl."
He said this past week has been difficult, reliving all the memories, especially the time he got drunk at the priest’s house and confronted him.
"I kicked him in the privates, punched him in the mouth, threw him down a flight of stairs, split his head open," he said.
The priest didn’t press charges "because he knew he couldn’t," he said.
When he heard the news a few years ago that Father MacDonald had died, "I was happy," Warren said.
"I hated him. I didn’t like the man, plain and simple. Glad to see him gone when he died."
Although his faith has been shattered, Philip Latimer said "he’s asking the people of the parish of Havre Boucher and in other parishes not to leave their church, not to lose sight of the true things."
"If you believe in God, then you trust in him. If you believe in his son, then you trust in him."
Contact: pbrooks@herald.ca
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.