Several cases of sexual abuse in St. John's archdiocese have been reported, starting in 1988. It is an important chapter in the series of clerical abuse affairs that occurred in the dioceses of Canada.

James Hickey affair

In September 1988, Fr. James Hickey pleaded guilty to 20 charges of sexual assault, gross indecency and indecent assault involving teenage boys while he was a parish priest on the

Burin Peninsula The Burin Peninsula ( ) is a peninsula located on the south coast of the island of Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Marystown is the largest population centre on the peninsula.Statistics Canada. 201 ...

and in the St. John's area. He spent five years in prison, serving his sentence at

Her Majesty's Penitentiary Her Majesty's Penitentiary (HMP), located in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada is the primary facility for housing medium and maximum security male prisoners in Newfoundland and Labrador. According to media reports, the name of the p ...

, St. John's, and

Dorchester Penitentiary The Dorchester Penitentiary ( French: Pénitencier de Dorchester) is a Canadian federal corrections facility located in the village of Dorchester, New Brunswick. It shares a property with Westmorland Institution and Shepody Healing Centre. ...

, NB. Despite Hickey's criminal conviction, archdiocese leaders fought against the victims' lawsuits demanding damages for over 20 years. Hickey, the first priest convicted in a sexual-abuse scandal, died in 1992. In February 2009, the

Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador The Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador is the superior court for the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction to hear appeals in both criminal and civil matters from the Provincial Court and desig ...

ruled that the Archdiocese of St. John's was "vicariously liable" for the sexual abuse of eight former altar boys by Hickey.

Mount Cashel orphanage scandal

In 1988, a scandal erupted over allegations of widespread abuse of children at

Mount Cashel Orphanage The Mount Cashel Orphanage, known locally as the Mount Cashel Boys' Home, was a boys' orphanage located in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The orphanage was operated by the Congregation of Christian Brothers The Congregation of ...

in Newfoundland. From 1989 to 1993, nine Christian Brothers were charged and prosecuted for various criminal offences including sex offences against the boys of Mount Cashel orphanage. The religious order that ran the orphanage filed for bankruptcy in the face of numerous lawsuits. Since the Mount Cashel scandal erupted, a number of priests across the country have been accused of sexual abuse. In July 2020, the Court of Appeal for Newfoundland and Labrador unanimously reversed a 2018 Canadian Supreme ruling and ruled that the Archdiocese of St. John's was liable for the sexual abuse committed at the Mount Cashel Orphanage in the 1950s and 1960s. In July 2021, the Archdiocese of St. John's announced plans to sell off assets in order to compensate victims of the Mount Cashel sex abuse scandal.

Hughes Inquiry

The Hughes Inquiry was a Canadian

royal commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...

which concluded that officials had transferred offenders and covered up the sexual abuse at Mount Cashel. It recommended that victims be compensated. The commission began inquiry investigations on 1 June 1989 and published its report in April 1992.

Resignation of bishop Penney

The

Winter Commission The Winter Commission was a diocesan commission appointed in May 1989 by Alphonsus Liguori Penney, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of St. Johns, to conduct hearings surrounding the Mount Cashel abuse affairs. The commission headed by former Lieu ...

was appointed in 1989 by Archbishop Alphonsus Penney and released its report during the following year. Its final report, submitted in 1990, was entitled ''The report of the Archdiocesan Commission of Enquiry into the Sexual Abuse of Children by Members of the Clergy''. Archbishop Penney resigned on February 2, 1991, following the release of the commission's report, which placed some of the blame for cover-ups of the abuse on him.

Allegations against bishop Lahey

In 1989, Fr. Kevin Molloy went to former St. John's archbishop Alphonsus Liguori Penney to report that a child had seen pornography at the home of a priest Raymond Lahey. These allegations were recounted in 2009 when Bishop Lahey was subsequently arrested for separate allegations involving illicit pornography (''see:'' sexual abuse scandal in Antigonish diocese).

1992 guidelines from the CCCB

In 1992, the Canadian Catholic bishops responded by unveiling guidelines, calling for fairness and openness to all allegations, stressing the need to "respect" the jurisdiction of outside authorities, and recommending counselling and compassion for the victims. However, some assert that, the bishops' guidelines notwithstanding, the sexual abuse problems have not been adequately addressed.

2004 Supreme Court decision

In 2004, the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...

in '' Doe v Bennett'', upheld the lower court's decision that the ecclesiastical corporation, Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of St. George's in Western Newfoundland, 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 is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is re ...

by Father Kevin Bennett.

Rev. Peter Power controversy

In July 2020, Rev. Peter Power, who was originally from the

Archdiocese of Toronto The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Toronto () is a Roman Catholic archdiocese that includes part of the province of Ontario. Its archbishop is also the ecclesiastical provincial for the dioceses of Hamilton, London, Saint Catharines, and Thunder Bay ...

, was charged with charges of sexual touching, sexual assault and committing an indecent act involving two teenaged boys, aged 18 and 16 years old at a residence in a small Newfoundland community earlier in the year. Though officially retired, Power was still occasionally active in Catholic ministry when he relocated to Newfoundland.

British Columbia Link to the St. John's archdiocese

In February 2021, a

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

man alleged that he was sexually abused by one of the Christian Brother's, who confessed to the

Royal Newfoundland Constabulary The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC) is the state police#Canada, provincial police service for the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary is one of three provincial po ...

of molesting children at the Mount Cashel Orphanage in 1975. In August 2022, a

man, known only as 'John B. Doe,' filed a class action lawsuit in British Columbia, alleging that he was physically and sexually abused while attending

Vancouver College Vancouver College (abbreviated informally to VC) is an independent K-12 university-preparatory Catholic school for boys located in the Shaughnessy neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1922, it is the only independent ...

, a preparatory Catholic School for boys located in the Shaughnessy neighbourhood of

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

. The lawsuit alleges that six Christian Brothers working as teachers at the school, were known to have committed crimes, (in some cases admitted to crimes) against children in NL, before being transferred to Vancouver to teach at Vancouver College. In September 2022, police in

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard In ...

, BC, acknowledged that they had an active investigation in relation to a complaint against a former NL Christian Brother, who was transferred from the Mount Cashel Orphanage subsequent to allegations of

child molestation Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...

, to St. Thomas More Collegiate, a private school ran by the congregation of Christian Brothers. The complainant, John A. Doe, is accusing former Christian Brother

Edward English Edward Apsey English (1 January 1864 – 5 September 1966) was an English first-class cricketer. English was born at Dorking in January 1864. He first came to cricketing prominence when he represented the young players of Surrey as a 19 year ...

of abuse allegations during his time at the private college. John A. Doe, questions how Brother English was allowed to quietly be transferred from NL to BC, without charges, after admitting to molesting children to the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, in 1975.

References

{{SACC Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals in Canada Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of St. John's, Newfoundland Violence against men in North America Child sexual abuse in Canada