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	Brothers Never Shared Abuse Details By Carol Mulligan Sudbury Star April 26, 2011 http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3095221 Three brothers suing a former Sudbury-area Roman Catholic priest for sexual abuse have outlined the nature of the abuse they allegedly suffered more than 30 years ago in statements of claim. But the three men, now in their 50s, have never shared with each other details of the sexual acts they say they were forced to perform by Father John E. Sullivan in the late 1960s when he was priest at Canadian Forces Base Falconbridge. The eldest of the brothers, now 57, lives in Nova Scotia. He said it wasn't until last year that he and his brothers, known as BJJ and RJJ in their statements of claim, discussed launching civil lawsuits against Sullivan, now in his late 80s, and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie. PJJ said he and his brothers were "pure as white snow" when the priest began molesting them. "I did not know at 14 about the birds and the bees, let alone the birds and the birds," he said in a telephone interview from Halifax. Sullivan, who lives in Montreal with a sister, was convicted in 1992 of several criminal charges of sexual assault against the brothers and other boys in four different locations in Ontario, said PJJ. The allegations contained in the lawsuit have not been proven in court. PJJ recalled Sullivan being sentenced to two years and six months after pleading guilty to 32 offences involving 13 altar boys, although he said he didn't think Sullivan served federal time for the convictions. The brothers are each suing the diocese and Sullivan for about $3 million, the maximum allowed under the law. There is no statute of limitations on sexual assault charges. PJJ said he was together with his two brothers and their wives about a year ago when one of the women asked why they hadn't filed civil lawsuits against the priest. PJJ said he left the discussion, telling his family, "Because I don't want to go through that (pain) ever again." After thinking about it for a couple of months, he began considering a lawsuit. He had read about lawyer Rob Talach, of Ledroit Beckett Litigation Lawyers of London, Ont., representing women in Yarmouth, N.S. in a sexual abuse suit there and contacted him. Talach is representing at least a dozen clients in civil lawsuits against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie and priests who served in it in the last 40 years. The three brothers allege they were repeatedly sexually abused by Sullivan at their home at CFB Falconbridge. At the time, they did not know that all three were victims of the same man, said PJJ. In an interview last week, Bishop Jean-Louis Plouffe said the Roman Catholic Diocese has offered some counselling to victims who have come forward over the years saying they were abused by priests. But PJJ accused the diocese of being more interested in protecting its priests, and getting help for them, than helping victims. PJJ said when he told his parish priest in NS two decades ago about the abuse he had suffered as a boy, he was bitterly disappointed in his priest's response. PJJ was then president of his church's parish council and his wife suggested he speak with his pastor. "I told him what happened," said PJJ. "I was getting ready to pour my soul out to him. He just shook his head and said: 'Why do people have to continually try to attack us?' " PJJ said he left the Roman Catholic Church at that moment. It has been a difficult year since the brothers decided to sue, said PJJ. "I'm hoping this will really put an end to what's going on. It's affected my family, the way I raised my kids," he said. The lawsuits are not about money, he said. Most civil lawsuits are settled for pennies on the dollar of the damages being sought. "We want an apology. We wanted support, it fell on deaf ears ... and the only way we could figure out how to poke them in the eye to make them stand up and take notice is to start this lawsuit," he said. "And I'm hoping, with our lawsuit, other people will come out and say" they were also abused. Contact: cmulligan@thesudburystar.com
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