Action Needed for Abusive Priests

By Carol Mulligan
Sudbury Star
October 20, 2012

http://www.thesudburystar.com/2012/10/20/action-needed-for-abusive-priests



A Sudbury woman ordained a bishop with Roman Catholic Women Priests of Canada has her own take on how the church in which she is fighting for reform should handle cases of sexual abuse by priests.

Marie Evans Bouclin, who once worked for the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie and Bishop Jean-Louise Plouffe, agrees with Rev. Bob Bourgon that allowing offending priests to remain on the church's radar helps track them and ensure they don't offend again. Bouclin suggests priests convicted of sexual assault should undergo assessment and, if they are determined to be so psychologically damaged they never should have been ordained in the first place, they be defrocked.

If it's deemed they are "unfit for ministry, then there should be some kind of an action to annul their ordination just like you annul a marriage," said Bouclin.

Bouclin, who has been ex-communicated by the Roman Catholic Church for ordination first as a woman priest and then as a bishop, believes there are two important considerations in dealing with sexual abuse in the church. Those are truth and justice.

She is calling for an independent body, such as a truth and reconciliation commission, to offer counselling and assistance to victims, and uncover the truth of what happened to them.

"There's truth-telling that doesn't happen in a court of law," said Bouclin, who has written a book about women sexually abused by priests.

"I've sat through enough of them to know," she says of court cases.

Once cases of sexual assault end up in civil court, victims are looking for "retributive justice, which heals nobody," said Bouclin.

It is not surprising people who have been victims of priests, many of whom complained to church officials years ago, don't have faith in today's church leaders to help them.

She and Bourgon both point to the Diocese of London, where Sudburian Ronald Fabbro is bishop.

That diocese did offer funding for counselling for victims before their lawsuits were settled, but Bouclin and Bourgon, vicar-general of the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie, say it wasn't a successful program.

Said Bouclin: "Because there is such a breach of trust, people are reluctant to go near anything (run by the church). They won't go near them.

" This is why people have no hope there's going to be any truth because they've been lied to, they've been raped ... they've been badly badly damaged."

When victims and their churches turn to litigation, they don't get the compassion they need.

"You don't get compassion in a court of law," said Bouclin. "You can't legislate compassion."

She points out the "dichotomy" of breakaway women priests who are shunned and male priests who are convicted of terrible crimes, serve time in prison and retain their collars.

"We've been ex-communicated for wanting to serve the church with compassion," said Bouclin. "We're ex-communicated, and these guys are criminals and they're not?"

Bourgon said his diocese, and those throughout North America, are grappling with how to responsibly respond to the issue of sexual abuse by priests.

Any priest convicted criminally of sexual abuse is immediately removed from his duties and is not allowed to act as a priest, he said. They are assessed to see what's going on.

"It's a matter of trying to figure out, what do we have our hands on here?"

carol.mulligan@sunmedia.ca Twitter: @Carol_Mulligan