N.L. Church to Ensure Lahey's Crimes Not Repeated

CTV
January 7, 2012

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20120107/newfoundland-church-lahey-120107/

Raymond Lahey leaves the Ottawa court House following his sentencing in Ottawa, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012. (Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — An archbishop in Newfoundland says his church is committed to ensuring a safe environment for its parishioners.

Martin Currie's comments come just days after disgraced Roman Catholic bishop Raymond Lahey was sentenced for possessing child pornography.

Currie, the archbishop of St. John's, says the church has a thorough screening process and is committed to making sure its officials are not involved in crimes like Lahey's again.

Currie is asking church members to stand against "all that harms or degrades human beings," and reiterated Lahey's impending removal from the clerical state.

Lahey, a former parish priest in Newfoundland and more recently the bishop of Antigonish, N.S, was caught with hundreds of pornographic photos of young boys at an Ottawa airport in September 2009.

The 71-year-old was sentenced earlier this week to 15 months in jail, but he is free on probation because of credit for time already served.

A spokeswoman for the Newfoundland archdiocese says Currie's statement will also be read at mass on Sunday and posted on parish bulletin boards.