CANADA
Toronto Star
By: Michael Coren Published on Thu Mar 03 2016
Something deeply significant occurred at the Academy Awards this year. Beyond the glamour, the talent and the entirely valid concerns about lack of diversity, Spotlight was named best movie. Frankly, I didn’t think it would happen. A film about the child rape crisis within the Roman Catholic Church was given international acclaim and acknowledgement.
Let me take you back to 1989. I was working for the CBC, making documentaries. One of them was about Covenant House, the essential and entirely noble shelter in Toronto that cares for street kids. With origins in 1960s New York, Covenant House now has international branches.
One of its founders, and very much its public face, was the Franciscan priest Father Bruce Ritter, and after spending weeks speaking to people who worked at the centre and to many of the kids who lived there, we flew Ritter from New York to Toronto.
He was, shall we say, a difficult man. He was rude to the crew and to me, highly demanding and insisted on only meeting with boys at Covenant House. “No girls, no,” he told us. It was explained by his handlers that he was uncomfortable with girls and thought it might look awkward. I didn’t believe a word.
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