‘PRACTICAL’ SETTLEMENTS
Head of London Diocese says deals sometimes made to save court costs
Bishop says not all accused clergy guilty of abuse
The London Diocese has paid out settlements in some sex-abuse lawsuits for “practical reasons,” despite believing the accused priests were not guilty, Bishop Ronald Fabbro said Friday.
Some of those cases were included on the list of “credibly accused” priests published this week by Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), he said.
“It is important to note that reaching a settlement in a civil suit does not necessarily indicate the allegation is credible,” said Fabbro. “When there has been a credible allegation, the diocese has offered settlements to help the victims come to some resolution and continue the process of healing. In other cases, though, some settlements are reached for practical purposes, to avoid the protracted costs of a trial, or to give a pastoral response to a plaintiff who has had difficulties in life.”
SNAP published a list on Wednesday of 36 priests “credibly accused” of abusing victims under the age of 18. The list, which covers the years from 1952 to 2005, includes 20 priests who worked in the Windsor region and nine from the London area. Many of the priests worked in more than one community.
The list names priests who have been criminally convicted, those who were charged but not convicted, and those who have settled lawsuits with awards of more than $50,000.
On Thursday, the diocese issued a statement confirming there are four more priests accused of abusing minors who are not on that list. They no longer work in the diocese or elsewhere in the Church.
Fabbro added Friday “about six” London diocese priests have been laicized, or removed from the priesthood by the Vatican, at his request. But he said he didn’t know the exact number. He would not name those former priests.
“Usually when Rome does that they say it is generally not to be made public,” said Fabbro.
He also would not reveal the names of the four priests missing from SNAP’S list, citing the same reason the diocese would not publish its own list in the first place.
“What I’ve learned from meeting with the survivors is that each survivor has their own story, each has their own history,” he said. “My position would be that we need to respect each survivor. Some survivors want to make the name of the priest who abused them public, as they have done with the list that SNAP published. But other survivors don’t want the priest’s name to be made public. I think we have to respect that.”
The diocese said Thursday SNAP’S list is “substantially correct” but added they “cannot confirm its accuracy in its entirety.”
On Friday, Church leaders said they don’t believe the allegations involved in all of the civil suits were credible, despite having paid settlements. They would not say which priests, or even how many, fit that category.
“We do not discuss case by case,” said Rev. John Comiskey, moderator of the curia and bishop’s delegate.
“What we’re trying to say is not every case on the list is a credible allegation, in our mind. Settlements have been reached, but as the bishop said, for a couple reasons: we don’t go to court, but also to help somebody who has had a difficult life. We’re trying to help them out as a pastoral reach.”
Brenda Brunelle, leader of SNAP’S Southwestern Ontario branch, said she found it hard to believe the Church would pay out that much money for an innocent priest.
“The Church is a business,” she said. “They don’t just give their cash away. If they’re paying out settlements of $50,000 or greater, it’s because they know there is validity to these and they’re credibly accused. He’s already looked at this list, which I sent to him, and he’s said yes, they’re accurate. So now is he backtracking?”
Fabbro said he is willing to meet with Brunelle to discuss her concerns.
“One of the reasons we haven’t met so far is her allegation against a priest was with a Basilian priest,” said Fabbro. “Basilians and other religious orders acting in the diocese have their own protocols, and that’s what we respect as a diocese, that they should follow their protocol. They are the ones that have a protocol to deal with allegations that come forward. That was why we didn’t meet initially with Brenda.”
Brunelle said she has made attempts to sit down with Fabbro, including spending a week in Cornwall trying to meet with him in September during the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.
“I think he owes me a conversation, but if he’s doing that to present himself as though he’s working with survivors and not with sincerity, I have absolutely zero interest,” said Brunelle.
“I don’t want to be part of a publicity stunt on his behalf. I find that he’s using publicity here. If he wanted to have a sincere conversation, where has he been all this time?”
It is important to note that reaching a settlement in a civil suit does not necessarily indicate the allegation is credible.