BishopAccountability.org
	Child Porn Bishop May Face Serious Canonical Sanctions By Paddy Agnew Irish Times May 6, 2011 http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2011/0506/1224296280801.html THE HOLY See indicated yesterday that Bishop Raymond Lahey, former bishop of Antigonish in Nova Scotia, could yet face canonical sanctions in the wake of his admission this week to the possession of child pornography. On returning to Canada from an overseas trip in 2009, Bishop Lahey initially refused to let airport customs officers examine his laptop. This refusal generated the suspicion of the airport personnel who, when they eventually opened the laptop, found it contained 588 graphic images of children, 33 pornographic videos and the texts of stories featuring the enslavement of children. The customs officers estimated that some of the boys in the photographs were as young as eight years old. The 70-year-old bishop has been on bail since he was arrested in September 2009 on the charges of importing and being in possession of child pornography for the purpose of distribution. In the meantime, he has resigned as bishop of Antigonish. On Wednesday in a court in Ottawa, Bishop Lahey pleaded guilty to the importation charge, asking that he be jailed immediately. Ironically, just one month before his arrest, Bishop Lahey had negotiated a $15 million settlement with victims of clerical sex abuse in his diocese in relation to incidents that stretched back as far as 1950. While Bishop Lahey has not yet been sentenced, the Holy See yesterday made it clear that even when the "civil process" has run its course, he could still face serious canonical sanctions. It said in a statement: "The Catholic Church condemns sexual exploitation in all its forms, especially when perpetrated against minors. "Although the civil process has run its course, the Holy See will continue to follow the canonical procedures in effect for such cases which will result in the imposition of the appropriate disciplinary or penal measures." The Holy See's continued handling of the Lahey case seems certain to present a revealing litmus test of the church's willingness (or not) to pursue not only abuser priests but also abuser bishops.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.