CANADA
The Telegram
Barb Sweet
Published on June 15, 2016
A New Mexico forensic psychologist in Newfoundland Supreme Court this morning called the boys at Mount Cashel as vulnerable as they could be when they were horribly wronged at the orphanage.
William Foote was qualified this morning at the Mount Cashel civil trial as an expert on the long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse. The request was made on behalf of the former residents from the 1940s to ’60s who say the Catholic Church should be held liable for physical and sexual abuse perpetrated by certain members of the lay order Christian Brothers.
The church contends it wasn’t involved in the orphanage’s operation.
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Foote also commented on the sexual sadism practised by certain Christian Brothers at the orphanage, noting everyone agrees it was a toxic place where boys were also humiliated and degraded through physical abuse.
The boys were at Mount Cashel usually because of a loss of a parent and Foote said during testimony on how research indicates children from a loving home life tend to fare better in recovering from sexual abuse. At the orphanage, the Brothers were in a position of trust in the boys’ lives.
Under questioning by former residents’ lawyer Will Hiscock, Foote said the fact that some boys were given penance when they confided in clergy about the abuse amounted to blaming the victim. (The court has already heard of instances of boys telling of abuse in confession).
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