CANADA
CBC News
By Jennifer Choi, CBC News
A former Supreme Court justice testified today in a lawsuit between the Diocese of Bathurst and its insurance company.
Michel Bastarache took the stand and described how victims told him how they were sexually abused by Catholic priests in the diocese dating back to the 1950’s.
“Eighty per cent of people told me I was the first person they told,” said Bastarache in a Moncton courtroom. “About half of those people told me I’d be the last.”
Bastarache was in charge of a confidential conciliation or compensation process for victims of molestation by priests in the Bathurst diocese.
He was hired in 2010 by Bathurst’s bishop at the time, Valery Vienneau, who is now the Archbishop of Moncton.
“At that time I thought it would be 30 people and only two priests involved, but I interviewed 90 people,” said Bastarache.
The victims reported sexual abuse by a total of 26 priests in the diocese
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