Dear Cardinal-Elect, Frank Leo
Bernadette Howell, Spiritual Health Practitioner - October 15, 2024
Breaking silence. Confronting clergy abuse.
Open letter to newly appointed Canadian Cardinal Francis (Frank) Leo.
In your new role as cardinal, you will have far greater ability to address the horrors of clergy abuse and especially the lack of trust that continues to plague the health of this Church. This lack of trust is sadly born from the absence of accountability and transparency. With such proximity to senior leadership of the global Catholic Church as well as becoming an advisor to Pope Francis, you are now being placed in a political role where you can bring about real change should you wish to do so. And I have to believe that you do.
Bishop Accountability - December 23, 2025 Brampton, ON - A Catholic priest in Brampton, Ont., has been charged with sexual offences and removed from the ministry, the Archdiocese of Toronto says. It says the man is accused of one count of sexual assault and one count of sexual interference, an offence that applies when the victim is under 16 years old. It says the decision to remove the man from the pastoral ministry was made in accordance with its protocols and procedures relating to allegations of misconduct.
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.