TORONTO (CANADA)
CBC Radio
The Current
with Anna Maria Tremonti
[Note: The radio interview that this article summarizes is well worth listening to. The transcript of the broadcast is also useful but error-prone.]
“It destroyed most of my youth.”
“It was very hard trying to hide what was happening. And I also thought that I was the only one.”
“As soon as someone opened the door, then it flooded out.”
These are the words of a New Brunswick man, using the pseudonym Pierre, who alleges that Catholic priest Camille Leger sexually abused him for half a decade as a child.
Camille Leger is now deceased, but over 30 complaints were brought against him.
And almost every month for the past year, lawsuits have been filed against New Brunswick’s Catholic Church by alleged victims seeking compensation for sexual abuse by priests.
The recent wave of allegations follows an earlier conciliation process that led to settlements with nearly 200 victims of sexual abuse by priests in New Brunswick.
{ Bastarache process: Michel Bastarche led a conciliation process that led to settlements with almost 200 victims of sexual abuse by priests in New Brunswick. Bastarache process by the numbers:
– Moncton: 109 victims; $10.6M awarded to victims;
– Bathurst: 90 victims; $5.5M awarded to victims }
There are now 56 alleged cases of sex abuse before the courts in the province involving the church — and Moncton Archbishop Valéry Vienneau told CBC News he is concerned they no longer have the money to compensate all the victims coming forward.
“That’s ridiculous,” Pierre tells The Current’s Anna Maria Tremonti.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.