False Churches,
False Brethren, False Gospels
Canada Catholics pay millions to child sex victims
AFP
A Catholic congregation in Canada's Quebec province on Thursday
apologized to former students who had suffered sex abuse in their
schools and offered CAN$18 million (US$17.3 million) in
compensation.
The congregation in Sainte-Croix, not far from Quebec City, made
the announcement after reading an amicable agreement with the
victims -- former students who attended three Catholic schools
from 1950 to 2001.
At least 85 of them "suffered sexual abuse at the hands of a
member of the Sainte-Croix congregation or a lay person while they
were attending one of these educational institutions," the
community said in a statement.
"I sincerely deplore these mistakes and, in the name of the
congregation of Sainte-Croix, offer my apologies for the suffering
and the indignity inflicted on the victims of this abuse,"
provincial superior Jean-Pierre Aumont said.
"Moral wrongs occurred, and we have taken steps to correct them.
We hope the victims can finally emerge from their prison of
silence, heal the wounds they suffered as best they can and take
hold of their futures," Aumont added.
This marked the first time that a Canadian religious order had
apologized for sexual abuse, said a lawyer for the victims, Alain
Arsenault.
Arsenault also noted that more victims could come forward to be
added to the list of complainants. Each will receive
CAN$10,000-250,000, based on the severity of the crimes committed
against them.
The scandal, long covered up by the congregation's leaders,
erupted in the local media in 2008.
The Roman Catholic Church is struggling to deal with rising anger
and a string of lawsuits following thousands of child sexual abuse
claims in Europe and the United States.