Toronto Star
October 10, 2009
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/708389--after-protests-in-n-b-town-bishop-to-live-in-ottawa
OTTAWA–A Catholic bishop facing child pornography charges will live among other priests in a quiet neighbourhood as he awaits trial.
On Friday, a judge granted Raymond Lahey's request to live in Ottawa until his trial begins, after residents in the New Brunswick town where he was staying complained about his presence.
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| Raymond Lahey, who faces child porn charges, was given new bail conditions on Oct. 9, 2009. Photo by Adrian Wyld |
Faced with the prospect of having nowhere to live, Lahey pleaded with the local Roman Catholic Archdiocese this week to take him in, Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast said in a statement.
"When Bishop Raymond Lahey called our diocesan offices on Wednesday afternoon, he was facing very few – practically no – options with respect to a residence in Ottawa," said Prendergast.
"In Christian charity, and believing that it was the action that the Lord would want us to take, I have accepted that he stay at our priests' residence.
Lahey's next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 4.
The bishop will be monitored closely, and anyone he may come in contact with will be made aware of his strict bail conditions, said police Det. Dan Melchiorre.
"A lot of (the bail conditions) have to do with the Internet, computers," Melchiorre told reporters after Lahey's brief court appearance.
"Obviously there's other conditions in there about being with children under the age of 18."
Lahey surrendered his passport to police Friday and will have to report to authorities every two weeks, beginning Oct. 17.
Lahey resigned last month as bishop of the diocese of Antigonish, N.S.. Border agents at the Ottawa airport found graphic sexual images of young boys on his laptop as he was returning from an out-of-country trip on Sept. 15.
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