Catholic Church response to sexual abuse must centre on survivor well-being, not defensiveness
The Conversation – June 16, 2021
In light of the recent discovery of 215 Indigenous children in unmarked graves at a former Catholic-run residential school in British Columbia and investigations at other former residential schools, there have been renewed calls for the Pope to apologize for residential schools and for the Catholic Church to release its records.
The story has also turned public scrutiny on how the Catholic Church has responded to other calls to apologize and be accountable to victims in cases of sexual abuse both in residential schools and throughout the church.
CBC - April 16, 2026 Halifax, NS - Timothy Clark reported sexual abuse by a priest in 1984 but says the church ignored him. Decades later, his claim was approved under a class-action settlement against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth, yet he and more than 60 other accepted claimants have still not been paid. Delays are blamed on claim reviews, interviews, and late submissions, leaving many victims frustrated by poor communication and the lengthy process.
Journalist plans to create new archive of residential school survivor stories — before it's too late
CBC - April 14, 2026 A new project from award-winning journalist Connie Walker aims to create an archive of testimonies of abuse at residential schools before the accounts are destroyed in September 2027. The project at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), where she is the Velma Rogers Research Chair in the School of Journalism, aims to preserve residential school survivors' stories and raise awareness about the upcoming destruction of Independent Assessment Process (IAP) records. The files are being retained until 2027 to give survivors a chance to request a copy, opt-in to having the file preserved by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, or both.