A priest and his power: Consent and the doomed rape case against a residential school principal

Bishop Accountability - August 6, 2025


Williams Lake, BC - Bishop Hubert O’Connor was one of the first Catholic clergy in Canada charged with sexual offences committed at a residential school. In the 1990s, he faced trial for rapes and indecent assaults at St. Joseph’s Indian Residential School in B.C., where he had been principal in the 1960s. The case centered on whether young Indigenous students and staff could genuinely consent to sexual advances from a respected religious authority.


O’Connor was initially found guilty of raping a former teenage student and one count of indecent assault, but was acquitted of other charges. The B.C. Court of Appeal later overturned parts of the ruling, citing that consent under the law at the time did not automatically account for power imbalances. Despite the controversy, Crown prosecutors stayed remaining charges after a restorative justice healing circle in 1998, where survivors addressed how his actions affected their lives.

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Archdiocese denies sex claims in latest historical lawsuit involving late priest

By Patricia Grell • September 25, 2025
Free Press - September 23, 2025 Somerset, MB - The Archdiocese of St. Boniface has denied a man’s claims he was sexually abused by one of its priests in rural Manitoba decades ago. The man, who’s in his late 60s, claimed in a lawsuit filed in the Court of King’s Bench earlier this year that he was sexually abused by now-deceased Catholic priest Rene Touchette in the village of Somerset, about 150 kilometres southwest of Winnipeg. In a statement of defence filed in late July, the archdiocese argued the lawsuit should be tossed out — and that the man has provided no proof of the alleged abuse.

Canadian court OKs priest's abuse suit against prominent priest, religious order

By Patricia Grell • August 15, 2025
National Catholic Reporter - August 13, 2025 London, ON - Ontario’s Superior Court has ruled that Fr. Michael Bechard, a diocesan priest from London, Ontario, can proceed with his civil lawsuit against Basilian Fr. Thomas Rosica and the Basilian Fathers of Toronto for alleged sexual abuse. The defendants had sought to have the matter handled exclusively in a Catholic canonical court, but Justice Evelyn ten Cate found that Canadian civil courts have jurisdiction and should hear the case. Bechard has also filed a separate complaint under Vos Estis Lux Mundi, Pope Francis’ 2019 rules for reporting abuse within the Church. The Diocese of London is not a party to the lawsuit and maintains its bishop acted appropriately when Bechard first reported the allegations in 2015. Justice ten Cate ruled that religious organizations are not exempt from Canadian law and rejected the argument that Bechard’s oath to canon law barred civil action. She emphasized that the Church’s canonical courts cannot award damages or impose vicarious liability, making civil proceedings necessary to ensure justice.
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