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	Sault Bishop Replaces Disgraced East Coast Spiritual Leader The Sault Star November 21, 2009 http://www.saultstar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2187745 Pope chooses Brian Dunn to head Nova Scotia diocese An auxiliary bishop with the Catholic diocese of Sault Ste. Marie will replace a disgraced East Coast bishop accused of accessing child pornography. Pope Benedict named Bishop Brian Dunn as the new leader of the Diocese of Antigonish, N.S., on Saturday. He succeeds Raymond Lahey, who was allegedly caught with graphic sexual images of boys on his laptop computer in September. Dunn's appointment comes just about a year after his episcopal ordination to the Sault diocese. He will care for 130,000 Catholics in northeastern Nova Scotia. Dunn will be the diocese's ninth bishop. "I'm very grateful for the appointment, but I also have some sadness, and certainly lots of questions, about how do we work with people, to help people through difficulties," said Dunn on Saturday. Lahey was held in wide esteem in the diocese for his work as theologian and a liturgist, and for brokering a $15-million settlement for parishioners who claimed to have been sexually abused by priests in the area dating back to 1950. Dunn acknowledged "there's a lot of big issues" he will face in his new position. "There's a lot of information that I need to get to sift through," he said. The Newfoundland native wants to "know how people are feeling just to try to help (them) deal with their hurt." "It'll be very big, quite a big challenge. I realize that," he said. "The issue of sexual abuse is a huge issue. People are really hurt. I'll try my best to be with them and help them through it as best I can." Being with the faithful is something Dunn did a lot of during his brief time in the Sault diocese. He visited about 45 parishes stretching hundreds of kilometres from Manitouwadge to Espanola and Manitoulin Island. Dunn, 54, also met with students and teachers at nearby schools. "This experience here has been very helpful to me," he said. "Just meeting people, to be able to work with people, to be able to love people, to help people grow in faith. Those are the gifts that I will hope to bring to the diocese of Antigonish." Dunn was ordained the priesthood in 1980. He served in several parishes in the Diocese of Grand Falls until 1988. Dunn also taught at St. Peter's Seminary and served as vice-chancellor and chancellor of the Grand Falls diocese. "As a pastor, there's lots of times when there's real tragedy that happens in parishes," he said. "I think tragedy has lots of common elements . . . I look forward to being able to take those experiences to help the people in Antigonish." A statement by Bishop Jean-Louis Plouffe of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie, released Saturday morning, made no reference to the Lahey case. "This is a real sacrifice for our diocese, Bishop (Noel) Simard and me," he said in the release. "However, I am sure that out of love for our church in Canada, all will understand this appointment of the Holy Father at this particular time. It makes our loss easier to accept." In a telephone interview from Sudbury, Plouffe said Dunn "has all the personal gifts" to handle the challenges he'll face in Antigonish. "Being such a sensitive man he will, I'm sure, be able to really help this healing process. People are hurting from this. This is a major blow." Dunn, he added, "is a real shepherd who seeks to be really close to the people that he is called to walk the spiritual journey with." Papal nuncio Luigi Ventura, representing Pope Benedict, told Plouffe he wanted Dunn to replace Lahey about five weeks ago. The Sault bishop, who depends on his auxiliaries to help cover a large geographic area, decided to "think of the bigger picture." "If this can be our contribution to the Catholic Church in Canada and, in particular, Atlantic Canada, I guess we're willing to do the sacrifice," he said. The auxiliary bishop was based at Precious Blood Cathedral. He served in the Sault Ste. Marie, North Shore and Manitoulin regions. He expects to remain in the city for about another month. Dunn will continue to serve as interim pastor of the cathedral. Msgr. Bernard Burns retired as the downtown church's pastor Nov. 1. In 2007, Plouffe appealed to the Pope for help overseeing the diocese's 113 parishes and missions. At the time, it had been nearly 20 years since the diocese, which covers about 1,200 kilograms, had two auxiliary bishops. This is the second time in less than three years an auxiliary bishop from the Sault diocese has been named bishop of an East Coast diocese. Most Rev. Robert Harris was named bishop of Saint John, N.B., in May 2007. He served with the Sault diocese for five years. Plouffe wants to consult with his priests and the faithful to decide if he will appeal to the pope for another right-hand man. "In this diocese the tradition of having auxiliaries has been fruitful," he said.
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