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Former student sues Catholic seminary and dead monk's estate
for alleged abuse
Lawsuit claims church's culture silences witnesses and whistleblowers
while enabling abusers
Jason Proctor ·
CBC News ·
Posted: Mar 17, 2022 6:00 AM PT
WARNING: This article contains graphic content and may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it.
A former student who attended a Mission, B.C. seminary in the 1970s has filed a lawsuit against the school, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver, and the estate of a dead monk who he claims sexually assaulted him decades ago.
The alleged victim, who is applying to keep his identity anonymous, was one of three complainants in a 1990s criminal sexual assault trial that ended in the acquittal of Benedictine monk Vincent Harold Sander, known as Father Placidus.
According to a notice of civil claim filed this week in B.C. Supreme Court, the man claims Sander fondled his genitals and penetrated him anally when he was a 13-year-old student at the Seminary of Christ the King.
The lawsuit claims the church and the seminary failed to protect the alleged victim when he attended the school from September 1977 to June 1978 — instead promoting a culture that "silenced witnesses, complainants and whistleblowers" while "enabling perpetrators of sexual abuse to continue to commit their grievous crimes."
'A serious offence against God'
The alleged victim lived in a dormitory during the year he attended the seminary. He claims Sander taught art class and took an interest in a sketch he made of the monk's profile.
The alleged victim claims he attended the Seminary of Christ the King in Mission and was sexually abused when he was 13 years old. (Google Maps)
"The plaintiff subsequently attended at Sander's private office," the lawsuit reads. "Sander gestured him into the adjacent room where his pants and underwear were lowered to his ankles."
The allegations echo those contained in a case set for trial this fall against the seminary and a number of monks, including Sander, who died in Mission at age 94 in October 2021.
Both cases also name the "sole corporation" of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver — which is the legal entity that makes up the office.
In the case already underway, Mark O'Neill is suing for damages related to sexual and physical abuse he claims he suffered as a seminary student between 1974 and 1978, starting at age 13.
According to court documents, both O'Neill and the alleged victim in the suit filed this week were complainants in a criminal case against Sander, which was dismissed in December 1997.
News articles at the time said the monk admitted to a "consensual genital act" with a Grade 12 student in the 1980s during trial and admitted to kissing a student on the lips but not touching him "in any sexually inappropriate manner."
As if kissing a student on the lips is not sexually inappropriate.
Sander denied any abuse and was quoted as testifying that "what is alleged is a serious offence against a person and a serious offence against God ... Categorically, they did not happen."
So is lying!
Culture perpetuated deviant behaviour
Last spring, the B.C. Supreme Court judge overseeing O'Neill's civil case ordered former Archbishop Adam Exner, who is in his 90s, to be questioned in preparation for trial on O'Neill's claim Exner should be held vicariously liable for abuse.
Exner was archbishop in the 90s, long after the alleged abuse, but the judge said "he was personally involved with dealing with the consequences" of the criminal trial.
According to the lawsuit filed this week, the seminary operates for the "specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed an interest in becoming Roman Catholic priests."
In 2007, Interpol identified Christopher Paul Neil as the man in a series of "swirly face" photos that showed a man sexually abusing children. According to a lawsuit, Neil attended the Seminary of Christ the King in Mission. (Interpol)
The claim alleges three graduates have been convicted of child molestation, including Christopher Paul Neil, a notorious B.C. pedophile who became known as "Swirl Face" after he obscured his image online in photos of himself abusing young boys in Southeast Asia.
Neil was sentenced to five and a half years in jail in 2014.
The notice of claim faults the seminary and the church for alleged complicity in a culture of "entrenched clericalism and distorted beliefs that implicitly promoted the psychosexual immaturity of priests and seminarians, perpetuating sexually deviant behaviour."
The lawsuit says the "worldwide Roman Catholic Church's policies, philosophies and doctrines ... reflect this culture."
'He saw himself as a sinner'
The alleged victim claims to suffer from post-traumatic stress, chronic anger and a lack of self-worth as well as "a loss of connection to faith and a higher spiritual power."
The man is seeking damages for negligence, and wilful blindness related to what he claims is a failure by the seminary and the archbishop to advocate before the pope for "fundamental change to the structure and culture of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church to prevent sexual abuse from continually re-occurring."
Archbishop Emeritus Adam Exner has been ordered to testify in relation to a previous claim in which
he is accused of being vicariously liable for abuse at the Seminary of Christ the King in Mission.
(Archdiocese of Vancouver/WestminsterAbbey.ca)
According to his claim, the alleged victim is seeking punitive and aggravated damages against the defendants for "publicly celebrating and rejoicing" the monk's life in the last issue of Pax Regis, the seminary's bi-annual publication.
A two-page tribute to Sander said he "had been forced to come to a deep sense of his own human weakness as well as the ways that other people had been hurt by his own actions. He saw himself as a sinner in need of God's mercy."
Without going into details about the reasons, the article says Sander "humbly accepted reduced responsibilities when this became necessary; yet he began a no less active but more hidden phase of his monastic service."
"Father Placidus was realistic about the fact that, although many people counted him as a grace in their lives, not everyone had such a positive experience of him," the tribute reads.
"He responded to this hard truth by embracing a deep conversion of life with gratitude and faith."
There is hope for Sander's soul as there don't seem to be any accusations from the '1990s through the rest of his life. His awareness that he was a sinner in need of grace is a good thing and not commonly seen in most paedo-priests. It doesn't help his victims, or the victims of other paedos he might have influenced, like Chris Neil, but might get him into heaven.
None of the defendants has filed a response to the lawsuit yet.
Support is available for anyone who has been sexually assaulted. You can access crisis lines and local support services through this Government of Canada website or the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.
Why a 400-year relationship between Mi'kmaq and Catholic Church
is under pressure
WARNING: This story contains distressing details
Tom Ayers · CBC News ·
Posted: Mar 26, 2022 6:00 AM AT |
The close relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and the Mi'kmaq in what is now Atlantic Canada — an alliance that dates back more than 400 years — is being sorely tested after recent discoveries of unmarked graves at former residential school sites.
Some have turned away from the church, but others have maintained their faith.
"It's just sad that what happened in residential schools should never have happened," said Jeff Ward, general manager of the Membertou Heritage Park in Membertou First Nation, near Sydney, N.S.
"Those that hid behind religion, they have to answer to the Creator. They have to stand before God.
"My mom is a survivor. I'm a son of a survivor, so she told me the stories, and she's still with us today and she shares those stories with our family and it's very hard."
Starting Monday, Inuit, Métis and First Nations representatives from across Canada will be in Rome to ask Pope Francis for an apology for the intergenerational trauma created by the Roman Catholic Church's residential schools.
The Mi'kmaq started welcoming Catholic missionaries in the 1500s and formalized their connection with the church in 1610 with the baptism of Grand Chief Membertou.
Today, almost every First Nation in the Atlantic region has only one church and it is almost always Catholic.
Grand Chief Membertou allied his people with the 17th-century missionaries partly because it seemed like a pragmatic political move, said Ward.
Ward greets visitors to the heritage park with the Mi'kmaq Welcome Song, which has deep meaning, he said.
A plaque on the bust of Grand Chief Membertou outside the heritage park says the spiritual leader was also known to have the powers of healing and prophecy. (Tom Ayers/CBC)
"When I sing that song, I think of Grand Chief Membertou," Ward said.
"Our motto today is 'Welcoming the world' and sometimes I believe it's not by accident. I believe the spirits work through us today and we continue that same teaching, that same vision, that Grand Chief Membertou had."
The Mi'kmaq readily accepted the Catholic faith, Ward said, because the cross had already been an important spiritual symbol in their culture for 1,000 years before Jesus Christ.
For them, it has long represented the four directions and the balance between physical, spiritual, emotional and mental well-being.
To demonstrate that, Ward flips over his drum and points out the hand-hold is a cross.
"So when they came over with their cross, and some had circles with that cross, we said, 'Oh, they know the teaching,' so it was easy for us to welcome them," he said.
Stephen Augustine, a hereditary chief, says Roman Catholic missionaries saw value in learning to live with the Mi'kmaq and were impressed with their devoutness in the early 1600s. (Matthew Moore/CBC)
Stephen Augustine is a hereditary Mi'kmaw chief, historian and associate vice-president of Indigenous Affairs at Cape Breton University. He said Grand Chief Membertou was already a powerful figure who wanted to increase his stature by allying himself with the church.
The European newcomers also saw the value in learning to live with the Mi'kmaq, Augustine said. He noted that Jesuit missionary Father Pierre Biard was impressed with the devoutness of the Mi'kmaq in the early 1600s.
"He said the Mi'kmaw people are living the life of what Jesus would have epitomized as Christianity, espousing the values and principles of Catholicism," Augustine said.
That long-standing relationship is recognized twice a year when the Mi'kmaq travel to the small island of Mniku, also known as Chapel Island in the southeastern corner of the Bras d'Or Lake. They gather there to hold grand council meetings and church services as they have done for centuries, and also hold an annual pilgrimage to worship in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Que.
Jeff Ward says those who have lost faith in the Roman Catholic Church need to separate the religion from the people who ran the schools, but admits that has been very difficult for some. (Matthew Moore/CBC)
Ward said the abuse inflicted on residential school students — and increasing evidence of deaths with unmarked graves found at former school sites in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia — have caused some people to lose faith in the Catholic Church.
It has been difficult for some to separate the religion from the people who ran the schools, Ward said.
"I still help with the church," he said. "I'm part of the church committee here, but when it comes to prayer, I pray the way my elders have taught me and I conduct the ceremonies the way my elders have taught me."
Katy McEwan, 78, is a lifelong parishioner at St. Ann's Church in Membertou.
She has not lost her Catholic faith.
"There may be some that are very angry and I think it's because of the graves, the unmarked graves that are found now," McEwan said.
Her sister, Pauline Bernard, 90, said the congregation is aging and dwindling, much like it is everywhere.
But mass was held last week for the first time since the pandemic closed the church and she said there was a good turnout.
"Their faith is strong, you know, and I am really proud of them and I am so glad that they're not shaken by any of this," Bernard said.
Having a solid foundation in Mi'kmaw spirituality also helps strengthen the women's Catholic faith, both said.
"No matter what faith you belong to, your native spirituality strengthens that faith," McEwan said.
Augustine said it is not a surprise that some Mi'kmaq have maintained their devotion to Catholicism after more than four centuries.
"I think in some sense the Mi'kmaw people, the soul and the heart of the Mi'kmaw people, they're not treaty breakers, they're not promise breakers, so they don't want to break the agreement that the grand chief had with the church," he said.
Augustine is hopeful, but not optimistic, that the delegation in Rome will come away with good news.
"Pope Francis is very liberated in terms of his theology," he said. "I think he would be open, but we're talking about the church, the Vatican, so I think it would be really a miracle if they get an apology from the Pope."
An estimated 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend residential schools across Canada, most of which were run by the Catholic Church.
That experience is still an open wound, said Ward, adding that one family member who was invited to travel to the Vatican this week declined.
But true healing is possible, he said.
"I've said it before and I'll say it again: apology needs to come right from the leadership, right from your top person," Ward said.
"Forgiveness will start when it's recognized. When it's truly recognized, it will help heal entire nations."
Sydney, Nova Scotia
3rd former student alleges sexual abuse at Mission priest school in 1970s
Andrew Ehman claims senior monk ‘discreetly’ observed abuse occur in boys’ shower, did not intervene
PATRICK PENNER
May. 29, 2022 2:30 p.m.
A third man has now filed a civil suit alleging sexual abuse at Mission’s minor seminary school while he was a teenager. Andrew Ehman, like the two other accusers, attended the high school seminary for aspiring priests in the 1970s.
In his civil claim, filed in BC Supreme Court on May 24, Ehman says Shawn Rohrbach was an adult student at the college seminary in 1975 when he allegedly plied Ehman with alcohol and committed sexual battery against him. Ehman was 16 at the time.
Harry Sanders (known as Father Placidus), whose estate is named in all three suits, “detected and discreetly observed” the abuse taking place in the boys’ shower room and did nothing, which allowed the abuse to continue into the boys’ dormitory, the suit alleges.
Ehman claims that, after a delay, Sander eventually reported the incident to the school’s rector, Anthony Kalberer, who had separate private meetings with Ehman and Rohrbach.
No further action was taken, and Rohrbach was not removed or disciplined, which emboldened “his predatory behaviours against other minor seminarians,” the suit alleges.
“Rohrbach was a predator skilled at grooming, preying upon, and exploiting underage boys to submit to sexual activity after plying them with alcohol.”
The first of the three former students to file a civil suit, Mark O’Neill, also claims that Rohrbach – who served as an overnight field-trip supervisor – plied him with alcohol before sexually abusing him during a hiking trip in 1978.
He also alleges an attempted rape by Rohrbach off school grounds in 1979.
All three plaintiffs name Seminary of Christ the King, Westminster Abbey (the monks run the attached high school seminary), and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver as institutional defendants.
They claim systematic negligence in failing to protect the students, and complicity in an entrenched clerical culture that promotes the “psychosexual immaturity of priests and seminarians, perpetuating sexually deviant behavior.”
All suites claim numerous convicted or credibly accused pedophiles are former students of the seminary.
The three cases are represented by the same lawyer, who has applied to have the evidence heard during the same trial on the basis of relevance. It is scheduled for Sept. 12, 2022.
All plaintiffs claim damages from a range of injuries sustained from the alleged abuse, which include PTSD, chronic anger, anxiety, dissociation, sleep disturbance, and depression, to name a few.
There is some variation in the named defendants in each suit. Ehman’s claim adds the estate of Kalberer (deceased in 2008) as a defendant for failing to intervene.
O’Neill and the other unnamed plaintiff testified at the 1997 criminal trial of Sander, which resulted in his acquittal on all six charges.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Paedophile priest Vincent Gerard Ryan dead at 84
ABC Newcastle / By Giselle Wakatama
Posted Sun 29 May 2022 at 8:25pm
Ryan, known as Vince Ryan, was jailed for more than two decades for abusing 37 known victims, dating back to the 1970s.
He completed his studies in Rome a decade earlier, before becoming a parish priest in the beachside Newcastle suburb of Merewether.
He went on to work as a parish priest across the New South Wales' Hunter Valley until he was first jailed in 1996.
His abuse survivors are angry he has died without being stripped of holy orders, or defrocked.
The Maitland-Newcastle Catholic Diocese will not comment on his death.
It was July 1995 when two men, Gerard McDonald and Scott Hallett, raised the alarm on Ryan's abuse.
Ryan preyed on both of them back in 1975 when they were primary school students at Catholic school in Merewether.
Ryan had his priestly faculties removed in the years before his death but was not laicised, meaning he retained the title of Father.
That has angered survivors.
"It is bulls**t. I am angry how he died a priest and it has got me thinking that they still support him even in death," Gerard McDonald said.
Mr Hallett agreed.
"They never address really punishing these guys and it's without question nobody deserves to be punished a lot more than he did," he said.
"There's unfinished business and people that still haven't come forward. I know people who haven't come forward; he got away with heaps."
No, he has, or has to stand before Christ in judgement - he will not get away with anything!
The biggest supporter of Ryan's victims is former New South Wales police minister Troy Grant.
Mr Grant has told the ABC he would never forget being appointed the police officer in charge when he first learned of Ryan in the mid-90's.
"From that investigation it really became a Pandora's box and ultimately led to 37 victims over a 20-year period and really disturbingly the uncovering of the church's complicity in those offences."
Ryan leaves court in 2016. (ABC News: Antoinette Lattouf)
Mr Grant noted the Ryan investigation led to judicial change.
"It had a major impact, it was subject to a special commission of inquiry, it was a critical case in the Royal Commission and it was actually a brief examined in the NSW Police Royal Commission in the 90s," he said.
"I guess I am proud of the fact it was a case that was able to highlight the extent of the offending, the extent of the cover up and the way that investigations potentially needed to go or things that needed to be looked at that weren't traditionally done so."
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