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The lawyer for 40 people who were sexually abused by a Newfoundland priest says his clients have decided it’s pointless to go after the final $2 million they’re owed in their settlement with the Roman Catholic Church. Greg Stack said they will accept a final instalment, bringing the total to $12 million for abuses suffered under Kevin Bennett, a former priest with the St. George’s Diocese.
At that point, each person will have received about 86 per cent of what they were entitled to under a $14-million settlement with the diocese.
“We’re kind of disappointed that the bishop himself ... has not raised any money and has sort of washed his hands of it,” Stack said. “After making a commitment to us 2 1/2 years ago that he would move heaven and Earth and raise the money, now he’s sort of shrugging his shoulders.
“The church can go out and fundraise. We know they can get money from other dioceses. We know they can get money, ultimately, from Rome if they wanted to. They’ve chosen to be hard-nosed with this.”
Bishop Douglas Crosbie did not return calls requesting an interview.
Bennett was convicted in May 1990 of hundreds of sexual assaults dating back to 1961. He was sentenced to four years in prison after the court heard how he had plied altar boys with liquor and money for nearly three decades.
Stack said that even though the victims decided not to press the diocese into full bankruptcy for the rest of the claim, the outstanding debt should be paid.
“They haven’t lived up to their word, but to pursue is going to cost a fair bit of money — probably more than it’s worth,” he said.
While three dioceses in the United States have been forced into full bankruptcy over sexual assault claims, St. George’s will remain in operation because it sought bankruptcy protection.
Through a complicated business transaction, Stack said the church has put itself in a position where the company that now owns its assets is not legally responsible for the actions of the church and its members. According to the negotiated settlement between the church and the victims, the Roman Catholic Episcopal Corp. of St. George’s sold its main churches in Corner Brook, N.L., Stephenville, N.L., and other communities to the Corner Brook Episcopal Lands Corp., a private company started by a number of diocese leaders.
The church then used the money from selling the churches to pay part of the settlement. “They’re still hanging on to everything, and they’re left intact,” Stack said. “They’ve got everything they wanted ... in the name of a different company, but it’s still themselves.”
In March 2004, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Bennett’s victims could sue the St. George’s Diocese. Newfoundland has been rocked by a series of sex-abuse scandals involving Roman Catholic clergy, the most infamous of which spanned several decades at the former Mount Cashel Orphanage run by the Christian Brothers in St. John’s.+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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(Source: CSNL)