CANADA
Vancouver Sun
By Gordon Hoekstra, Vancouver Sun January 19, 2013
The Vancouver Catholic archdiocese argues it shouldn’t have to pay damages in a B.C. woman’s civil suit for alleged sexual abuse by a priest when she was a teenager in the 1980s, claiming the relationship was consensual.
Lawrence Cooper, also known as Father Damian Cooper, and the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Vancouver filed a response in B.C. Supreme Court on Jan. 3 to Kathleen Taylor’s suit.
Last month, Taylor filed a suit seeking damages for sexual exploitation and/or sexual assaults because she said she had suffered psychological damage. She is seeking general, aggravated, punitive and special damages, as well as loss of past and future earnings.
The church “admits that it is vicariously liable” for some of the actions of the priest in the course of his employment, but adds he was “reasonably supervised” and the church had no knowledge of the personal relationship between the priest and Taylor.
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.