BishopAccountability.org
	Quilt a Testament to Survivors By Jane Sims London Free Press April 1, 2011 http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2011/04/01/17846646.html It’s a quilt of hope stitched together with courage. And it is links together the stories of survival of the women who were the victims of Rev. Charles Sylvestre’s sexual abuse. On Saturday, the quilt that has hung in public libraries in Sarnia, Chatham and Windsor, will be exhibited at the London Public Library’s Crouch Branch. The Survivors’ Quilt “Shattered Lives Held Together By a Common Thread” was created by Irene (Lajoie) Williams, one of the women who was abused by Sylvestre when he lead a Sarnia-area parish. The hope was that the quilt, stitched together by survivors, would be displayed in every community where Sylvestre abused little girls. “I think the quilt was part of their healing process and it’s a visual that can be shared with all of the communities in the Catholic diocese as a reminder . . . of the sexual abuse that was perpetrated by a priest.,” said Louise Pitre, executive director of the Sexual Assault Centre London. It’s also “a reminder of the courage and the resilience of the survivors,” she said. Over four decades, Sylvestre abused little girls in Windsor, Sarnia, London, Chatham and Pain Court. In 2006, he pleaded guilty to 47 counts of indecent assault and was sentenced to three years in prison. Three months later, at the age of 84, he died in prison. He left behind shattered communities and a large group of women dealing with the pain and shame of sexual abuse by a Roman Catholic priest. The Roman Catholic Diocese of London has since settled 65 civil cases involving Sylvestre survivors, with 12 still outstanding. Over the past few weeks, a London judge has heard the first civil action involving Sylvestre to go to trial. Both retired Bishop John Sherlock and Bishop Ronald Fabbro testified at the trial where a a Chatham woman is suing the diocese of $3.5 million. Williams will be speaking at the London event, along with Mary Ann Mulhern, the poet who wrote When Angels Weep, a collection of poems about the Sylvestre survivors. The exhibition is from 2 to 4 p.m. Contact: jane.sims@sunmedia.ca
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.