Halifax Catholic Church Archbishop Anthony Mancini said Monday the archdiocese will not shoulder the legal fees of Antigonish Diocese Bishop Raymond Lahey, who is facing child pornography charges.Mancini stressed Lahey has not requested for such kind of financial assistance, but if he would, the archbishop said the request would be thumbed down.
While the diocese has policies that it must pay for legal assistance to church employees who are facing lawsuits, the 69-year old Lahey had already resigned his post as a result of the scandal.
He was arrested at the Ottawa airport after authorities discovered disturbing images on his laptop. Lahey is out on bail.
A Portugal Cove priest claims a young boy had confessed to him of discovering similar lewd materials 20 years ago in Lahey's rectory at Cornerbrook.
However, no complaint came out against Lahey who had shown fondness for boys way back then, until the recent incident in Ottawa airport exposed the bishop's deep, dark secrets.
Speculations that the Antigonish diocese may pay for Lahey's legal fees caused parishioners to hold back giving cash offerings during Sunday mass, although it is unknown if the Catholic churches in the diocese had lesser collections because of the incident.
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