Diocesan Investigation Finds Complaint against Former Madawaska Religious Education Director Substantiated

St. John Valley Times
December 15, 2012

http://www.sjvalley-times.com/view/full_story/21137617/article--Diocesan-investigation-finds-complaint-against-former-Religious-Education-director--in-Madawaska--substantiated?instance=most_popular

A diocesan investigation has determined that a claim of sexual abuse of a minor against a former Director of Religious Education at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Madawaska is substantiated, according to a press release from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland.

Released at 4:41 p.m., the press release is as follows:

"Earlier this year, a Maine man contacted Sacred Heart Parish in Bloomfield, Conn. and told an administrator that Brother Paul L. Gauvin, the Director of Liturgy at the parish, sexually abused him in the early 1970s while Gauvin was serving as the Director of Religious Education at St. Thomas Aquinas in Madawaska.

The victim was between the ages of 11 and 12 when the abuse occurred. Prior to working at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, Gauvin was an English teacher at Madawaska High School, a public school where the Brothers of the Sacred Heart taught. The Brothers of the Sacred Heart left Maine in 1994.

Immediately after the victim’s allegation, Gauvin, who is currently 73, was removed from his position as Director of Liturgy at Sacred Heart Parish. The Brothers of the Sacred Heart have been informed of the results of the investigation and are addressing the matter with Gauvin, who is under the supervision of a provincial and will have no contact with minors. A provincial is a regional religious superior for the Brothers of the Sacred Heart.

Bishop Malone encourages anyone who may have further information about this or any case of sexual abuse of a minor by a church representative to contact civil authorities and Deacon John Brennan, director of the Office of Professional Responsibility for the Diocese of Portland at (207) 321-7836."