An Ottawa man sexually abused as a boy by his parish priest has denounced an apology from the Catholic Archdiocese of Ottawa as "feeble."Earlier this year, the 40-year-old, who can only be identified as "Alex" because of a court-imposed publication ban, filed a $2-million suit against the church for abuse he suffered in 1982 as a 14-year-old altar boy at the hands of Rev. Dale Crampton.
The one-time pastor at St. Maurice Church on Percy Street was found guilty in 1986 of indecently assaulting seven altar boys and sentenced to eight months in jail.
Late Friday afternoon, the diocese issued a brief statement under the name of Archbishop Terence Prendergast apologizing for the sexual abuse Alex endured from Crampton. The statement was part of an agreed-upon settlement between Alex and the archdiocese.
"I am grateful that we have come to an early and mediated settlement of the claim for, sexual abuse, of A.V.B. (Alex) against Dale Crampton and the Archdiocese," Prendergast says in the statement. "This occasion gives me the opportunity to apologize to A.V.B. and to the other victims of Dale Crampton.
"Even though this particular incident dates from the early 1980s, we have all been made aware of the pain that these cases, involving sexual abuse and abuse of trust, have caused to the victims and to their families throughout the years. I state again the commitment of our diocese, and my personal commitment, to create a safe environment in the church for young people and for other vulnerable persons."
In an interview Friday evening, Alex expressed dissatisfaction with the statement, even though, as he put it, "I wasn't expecting anything more."
"This media release is as feeble as they come," he said. "But let's face it, the Catholic Church is a huge machine and they want to mitigate these things as much as possible. I guess I shouldn't expect anything more."
Alex's lawyer, Robert Talach, with the London, Ont.-based firm Ledroit Beckett, wasn't satisfied either.
"The terms of the settlement required an apology. They sure aren't putting out a press release out of the goodness of their hearts," he said, noting the time of the release -- late on a Friday afternoon before a holiday weekend.
Attempts to reach officials with the archdiocese for further comment were unsuccessful.
The amount of the settlement in Alex's case was not disclosed, but in 1990, the archdiocese paid $150,000 to the families of three of the seven altar boys who'd been abused by Crampton.
Alex's case attracted considerable attention this past June, when Monsignor Kevin Beach, the archdiocese's vicar general, suggested Alex had initiated the lawsuit only at his lawyer's instigation.
"I would think that it was at his lawyer's urging that this gentleman decided to launch a lawsuit, rather than communicate with us directly," Beach said.
The accusation still rankles Alex. He recalled attention to a mediation session at which Beach was present:
"I walked into this meeting and this same man was standing there offering to shake hands like he's my friend. One day he's trying to make me and my lawyer out to be the bad guys (for initiating a lawsuit), and then he's acting like a friend extending an olive branch. That was almost more of a slap in the face than having to come forward with all of this.
"As much as they preach about forgiveness and doing the right thing, they don't seem very forthcoming in trying to live up to these kinds of things.
"I was 14 years old," said Alex, "and I was abused by a person in a position of power, a person I was supposed to be able to trust, but I was also abused by an institution I was taught to trust. It's something that remains with you forever."
Talach shares his client's sentiment, but sees the church's response to Alex's case, including Friday's press release, as all too typical.
"The standard replay of the Church is first to vilify the victim. When that runs out of favour with the public, the next step is to vilify the lawyers," he said.
Talach also questioned the wording of the apology, arguing that its specific reference to incidents in the 1980s effectively implies that sexual abuse by priests is all in the past.
"The caution I would have for anyone who makes that conclusion is to remember that there is a time lag on these claims surfacing," he said, pointing out that the archdiocese was aware of Crampton's behaviour long before Alex was abused. "Most people come forward in their 40s, so the fact that we haven't had a complaint or haven't had anything happen in the Archdiocese of Ottawa recently isn't a guarantee it isn't happening now.
"It would be refreshing if the church would step forward, lay its faults bare for the public, and seek forgiveness from the community, consistent with its own doctrine."
Talach said the settlement is fine for his client and the apology of sorts allows him to go on with his life as best he can, but he questioned just how serious the church is in dealing with its problem priests.
"I think most Catholics and most parishioners would want to know if complaints were reacted to poorly or were ignored," he said. "What did the church know, and when did it know it?"
Talach estimated that there are "hundreds" of cases in Ontario of alleged sexual abuse by priests. His firm alone is involved with at least a dozen in this province, as well as another dozen or so in the Maritimes. He says his firm has been contacted by other alleged victims of Crampton. "And there'll be a second chapter to this story."
As for Alex, he wants to put the story behind him as best he can. He feels that in going public with his case, he's been vindicated. "I've been able to take the shroud of secrecy away from the church by having exposed it on my terms."
The church may have lost something else, too. "Do I still go to church? No. Do I take my kids to church? No. Do I raise them in the typical Catholic way? I don't think so, not anymore."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to us or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that we agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
SIC: OC