Cornwall News AM 1220

August 01, 2008 — An out of court settlement with an alleged Cornwall abuse victim may not have happened if others were consulted about the proposed agreement. Former Cornwall Bishop Eugene LaRocque told the Cornwall Public Inquiry today he believes the deal would not have been approved if it had been reviewed by the Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall’s finance commission. LaRocque says he was opposed at first to the settlement but changed his mind when he believed the money would go towards counseling. The bishop also testified he would not have endorsed the payout had he known there was a clause in the agreement preventing the alleged victim from pursuing criminal action. When questioned by Lead Commission Counsel Peter Engelmann LaRocque says he trusted the diocese lawyer to make the best decision in the interest of the church. The alleged victim accepted a $32,000 settlement in 1993 after he accused a city priest of abuse. Meanwhile, LaRocque revisited his comments regarding the diocese draft protocol on child sex abuse allegations. The bishop testified yesterday it was not up to him to ensure the church’s protocol on child sex abuse allegations was followed. He said it was up to the bishop’s designate. Today, he told the commission he did not want to blame his former designate for what some would call a mishandled abuse complaint. (Hear audio clip below) The inquiry is now on a three week break.

[Transcript of audio clip:

MSGR. LAROCQUE: …I should have realized — that was the first time that we were using the protocol and I should have monitored it much more closely.]

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Bishop Could Not Ensure Abuse Protocol Was Followed – Inquiry

Cornwall News AM 1220

August 01, 2008 — A former Cornwall bishop says it was not up to him to ensure the church’s protocol on child sex abuse allegations was followed. Eugene LaRocque told the Cornwall Public Inquiry yesterday it was up to the bishop’s designate. Commissioner Normand Glaude appeared surprised by that assertion and pressed LaRocque on the issue by pointing out that it was the diocese’s protocol and LaRocque was the head of the diocese. (Hear audio clip below.) Lead Commission Counsel Peter Engelmann suggested the protocol was not followed when alleged victim David Silmser made allegations against a city priest in the early ’90s. Silmser eventually accepted a $32,000 out of court settlement from the church. Hearings continue today.

[Transcript of audio clip:

THE COMMISSIONER: …is it not the ultimate responsibility of the head of the Diocese to make sure that its protocols are followed?

MSGR. LAROCQUE: If the protocol is given to the designate, it is his responsibility.

THE COMMISSIONER: Do you not keep an overseeing responsibility to ensure that —

MSGR. LAROCQUE: You can’t possibly do that with everything that’s going on in the Diocese. That’s absolutely impossible. I’d have to be God to be able to do that.]