A former Catholic bishop pleaded guilty on Wednesday to child
pornography charges, prompting a rebuke from the Vatican and Canadian
bishops.
Raymond Lahey, 70, resigned in September 2009 as bishop
of the diocese of Antigonish, Nova Scotia after a search at the Ottawa
airport of his laptop computer uncovered graphic photographs of males
who authorities suspected could be as young as eight years old.
He was later charged with possessing and importing child pornography following an investigation.
Following
his confession, the Vatican's press service issued a statement saying:
"The Catholic Church condemns sexual exploitation of all kind, in
particular when minors are targeted."
The church also said it was considering "appropriate disciplinary or penal" action against Lahey.
The
Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, meanwhile, reiterated its
"long-standing condemnation of the possession, distribution and use of
child pornographic images in all forms."
It added it "condemns all forms of sexual exploitation, especially involving minors."
Lahey faces sentencing in a Canadian court at a later date.
Lahey also faces accusations in a civil suit of sexually abusing an orphanage resident in the early 1980s.
The
Mount Cashel Orphanage in St. John's, Newfoundland was closed in 1990
after it was revealed that staff had systematically abused some 300
residents over several decades.
Pope Benedict XVI has met with
victims of child-molesting priests three times since 2008, in Australia,
the United States and most recently in Malta last year, when he
expressed his "shame and sorrow" over the scourge.