''Doe v Bennett'', 2004 SCC 17 is a legal ruling by the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...

which upheld the lower court's decision that the ecclesiastical corporation, Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of St. George's in

Western Newfoundland Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

, was

vicariously liable Vicarious liability is a form of a strict, secondary liability that arises under the common law doctrine of agency, ''respondeat superior'', the responsibility of the superior for the acts of their subordinate or, in a broader sense, the resp ...

(as well as directly liable) for

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...

by Father Kevin Bennett. The Court concluded that the ecclesiastical corporation's secondary responsibility originates from the power and authority over parishioners that the Church gave to its priests. The facts satisfied the close connection test: "the evidence overwhelmingly satisfies the tests affirmed in '' Bazley'', ''Jacobi'' and ''KLB'' The relationship between the diocesan enterprise and Bennett was sufficiently close." It asserted that: The Court declined to address the "difficult question of whether the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

can be held liable in a case such as this."''Ibid.'', para 36.

References

External links

* Canadian tort case law Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals in Canada 2004 in Canadian case law 2004 in religion Supreme Court of Canada cases Child sexual abuse in Canada {{Canada-law-stub