TORONTO (CANADA)
Catholic News Service
November 5, 2018
By Michael Swan
In a decision that confirms its right to proactively reach out to victims of sexual abuse by priests, the Catholic Diocese of Bathurst, New Brunswick, has been awarded $3.4 million in a dispute with its insurance company.
Following the Oct. 18 decision by the New Brunswick Court of Appeal, the insurer, Aviva Canada, said it would take time to consider appealing to the Supreme Court of Canada. It has 60 days from the date of the decision.
The dispute centers around a case first heard in 2016 in which payments were made to more than 90 victims of predator priests covering a period of decades beginning in the 1950s. As the scope of abuse over the history of the diocese became apparent to Archbishop Valery Vienneau of Moncton, then the bishop of Bathurst, he hired retired Supreme Court judge Michel Bastarache to lead a conciliation process in which victims would be encouraged to tell their stories to Bastarache and the judge would independently investigate and decide on a reasonable offer of compensation.
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