A file review of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy within the Archdiocese of Vancouver has uncovered 36 cases, most of them involving minors. Photo: Priest/Shutterstock
VANCOUVER — A file review of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy within the Archdiocese of Vancouver has uncovered 36 cases, most of them involving minors.
A report released today says Archbishop Michael Miller appointed a committee last year to conduct a file review following the disclosure of global sexual abuse by clergy.
The report says meetings were held where case summaries were presented by lawyers and the chair of the committee concluded there were 26 cases of abuse of minors by clergy, seven involving adults and three where priests had fathered children.
It says the abuse dates from the 1950s to present and covers the archdiocese area of Metro Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast, and parts of the central coast.
The report makes 31 recommendations, including that the archdiocese publish a list of the clergy who have been convicted, admitted to or have been "credibly accused" of sexual abuse along with their photos, locations and where they lived and worked.
The report contains the names and most of the photos of nine men who were either criminally convicted, settled lawsuits or were removed from the church even though charges were stayed.
Miller says in a letter preceding the report that even though the brutality of the sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults is a widespread tragedy, it has taken the Catholic Church around the world far too long to address its devastating consequences.
"This past year, guided by divine providence, we have studied and learned more than ever before about the pain suffered by you, victims/survivors of clerical sexual abuse in our Archdiocese," he says in the message.
"I realize that no expression of regret can repair the horror of what happened. Although nothing can undo the wrong that was done to you, I nonetheless wish to offer each of you my heartfelt apology for the trauma, the violation in body and soul, and the sense of betrayal and abandonment by the church that you feel."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 22, 2019.
