VANCOUVER (CANADA)
Vancouver Is Awesome [Vancouver BC, Canada]
April 30, 2024
By Jeremy Hainsworth
Students were told to use confession to report abuse “to cloak the abuse in sacramental secrecy,” a notice of civil claim alleges.
A B.C. man is suing a seminary, abbey and the Vancouver Roman Catholic archdiocese for priest sexual abuse he alleges took place.
The man, now 56, and known as SCK#4 in court documents, said in a B.C. Supreme Court notice of civil claim filed April 19 he attended Grade 8 at the Seminary of Christ the King in Mission between September 1981 and June 1982.
Named as defendants are the Seminary of Christ the King; Westminster Abbey Ltd.; the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver, a corporation Sole; Harold Sander, also known as Father Rev. Placidus; Rev. Father Dunstan Massey; Francis Chan Leprozo; and B.C.’s Ministry of Education and Child Care.
Sander and Massey are deceased, according to the court documents.
SCK#4 is represented by lawyer Sandra Kovacs.
The claim said Sander was ordained as a religious priest on May 22, 1952, taking vows of stability, conversion and obedience. He resided at Westminster Abbey until his death.
Massey was ordained as a religious priest in or around 1955, taking vows of stability, conversion and obedience, and resided at Westminster Abbey until his death.
The claim said Leprozo is an advanced aerospace composite technician at Boeing Company and lives in Washington State.
“At the material time, Leprozo was a major seminarian at Westminster Abbey,” the claim said, noting the seminary was a boarding school.
The claim alleges Sander fondled the boy in the bath; Massey invited the child to perform sexual acts in front of him and groped him; and Leprozo sexually assaulted the boy.
The claim further alleges the boy was subject to striking, punching, strapping and slapping by priests and monks.
At one point, the claim said, other students put the child’s head in a toilet bowl full of urine at encouragement from the monks.
Court documents further allege the boy and other children were told to use confession to report abuse “to cloak the abuse in sacramental secrecy.”
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
The suit claims negligence by the church organizations, failures to mitigate risks of abuse, failures to believe complaints of abuse and concealing abuse.
The claim said the government ought to have known of abuse after it began regulation of private schools in 1977. It said the seminary was subject to inspections.
The plaintiff is claiming multiple psychological injuries and seeks multiple damages.
The ministry said it cannot comment on a matter before the courts.
Director of communications Matthew Furtado said the archdiocese expresses deep sympathy for all victims of sexual abuse.
“We cannot make any specific comments about this case as it is now before the courts. But we hope the attendant publicity will help give any other victims/survivors the confidence to come forward and get the help they deserve.”
Abbey spokesman Benedict Lefebvre said it had received the notice of civil claim.
“At the moment, this case is being handled by our legal counsel and as it is a matter in litigation, we cannot offer any further comment,” Lefebvre said.