Press Release: RC Archbishop and Westminster Abbey Settle
Bernadette Howell Blog - May 28, 2024
Vancouver, BC -- In advance of a seven-week trial scheduled to commence June 3, 2024, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver, Westminster Abbey, and Seminary of Christ the King have settled with the plaintiff, anonymized as D.H. D.H. was raped at age 13 by Fr. Placidus aka Harold Vincent Sander, a Benedictine priest, when he was a grade eight boarding student at the Seminary of Christ the King (“SCK”) in 1977-1978. SCK still operates today: it is the last remaining Minor Seminary in Canada and has been operated by Benedictine monks since 1939.
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.
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.