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	Catholics Told to Seek Spiritual Guidance on Controversial Bishop By Jennifer Green The Ottawa Citizen December 13, 2009 http://www.ottawacitizen.com/opinion/Catholics+told+seek+spiritual+guidance+controversial+bishop/2335623/story.html Clerics, faithful dealing with presence of resident who faces charges of child pornography Ottawa Catholics held a rare, under-the-radar "day of prayer and penance for victims of child abuse (and) the sanctification of the clergy" to help deal with their awkward houseguest: a bishop charged with child pornography. Raymond Lahey, former bishop of Antigonish, N.S., has been living among the 15 or so priests at Kilborn Place residence since the fall when he was charged at the Ottawa airport with possessing and importing child pornography on his laptop. He is to appear in court again Wednesday. Lahey had hoped to stay in New Brunswick, but that didn't work out after a television crew followed him more than 50 kilometres toward Our Lady of Calvary monastery in Rogersville. Since Archbishop Terrence Prendergast agreed to let him stay here, the archdiocese has received dozens of calls, some saying Lahey should leave and get a hotel room; others praising the priests' good will. In the residence, the other priests aren't delighted to have him there, but neither are they frosty, said a church official. Last Friday, the archbishop wrote on his blog, "After the arrest of Bishop Lahey ... some of our priests got together to discuss our reactions, the impact on our lives and what we could do in response. "Among other things, we decided to hold a day of prayer and penance for victims of clergy abuse, for the sanctification of the clergy ... and for the Church in this difficult hour." Catholics were invited to fast, say the rosary, or the Divine Mercy chaplet (a variation on the rosary) go to confession, or Mass. On Dec. 4, services were held at the cathedral and at the diocesan centre on Kilborn Place. It's not known how many churches or individuals took part. Archbishop James Weisgerber, who speaks on child abuse cases for the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, said Lahey "has a right to human dignity," especially as he has not been convicted. In terms of pornography, Weisgerber said, "it's a wake-up call for the country. When I was a young man, if people wanted pornography (they) had to put on a trench coat and go to the drug store, and deal with the humiliation of it. Well, now it's piped into your home." It is destructive for both the people portrayed and those viewing it, albeit in different ways, he added. Customs authorities flagged Lahey, 69, when he landed at the Ottawa airport because his passport revealed extensive travel to countries notorious as sources of the illicit material, a court document alleges. Before he resigned, Lahey had overseen a historic, $15-million, out-of-court settlement with people who were sexually abused as children by a former priest in the diocese.
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