The Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver has released 31 recommendations to locally address what it calls a global crisis of sexual abuse by priests.
A report by the archdiocese outlines details of an investigation that found 36 cases of abuse by its clergy dating back to the 1950s, 26 of which involved minors.
Another 10 cases “involved consensual adult relationships where, of course, the imbalance of power made them likely to be abusive,” the report said.
The archdiocese noted it had dealt with a number of cases not mentioned in the report, and “each file will be reviewed with care by the newly appointed independent lawyer-investigators.”
Recommendations include the archdiocese setting up an intake office for complaints and a review board to determine if an allegation is credible.
The report also recommended the archdiocese publish a list of those “who have been guilty of sexual abuse.”
The report named nine priests — five who were criminally convicted, two who settled lawsuits and two who were involved in “public cases.”
Among the convicted clergy was Harold McIntee, who was arrested in 1989 and sentenced to two years in jail plus three years probation for the sexual abuse of 17 boys in B.C. over 25 years.
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Many of his victims were boys in residential schools in the dioceses of Kamloops, Prince George and Victoria, the report said.
John McCann was charged and convicted in 1991 of six counts relating to sex abuse of girls under the age of 16 in the 1970s.
George Gordon was charged in connection with the abuse of three boys that took place in the 1950s at Holy Rosary Cathedral. He was convicted in 1992 and sentenced to six months in jail.
The archdiocese said it is seeking “legal means to share information regarding clergy who have not been convicted, but of whose guilt we are morally certain.”
Archbishop Michael Miller says even though the brutality of the sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults is a widespread tragedy that affects every corner of society, it has taken the Catholic church far too long to address its devastating consequences.
Miller went on to encourage survivors of abuse by anyone assigned to ministry in the Archdiocese of Vancouver to come forward and report the incident.
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