Ledroit Beckett Litigation Lawyers issued lawsuits on behalf of victims of sexual abuse at the hands of two former London Diocese priests.

November 07, 2006

Today Ledroit Beckett Litigation Lawyers issued lawsuits on behalf of victims of sexual abuse at the hands of two former London Diocese priests.

Richard Corbett of Wheatley Ontario is suing for sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of Father Barry D. Glendinning, which occurred in 1964 and 1965 when Richard was a 15 year old parishioner at Our Lady of Guadalupe parish in Windsor.

Father Glendinning pled guilty in 1974 to unrelated criminal charges of gross indecency with children in London. Glendinning is retired and living in Toronto after serving a full career as a Roman Catholic priest. Just prior to his retirement he had again returned to teaching, this time at St. Paul’s Seminary in Ottawa. In 2004, Glendinning and the London Diocese were found liable for Glendinning’s sexual abuse of a number of London children and ordered to pay just short of $1.4 million in damages plus interest.

Mary Jane Haslam of MacGregor, Ontario is suing for the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of Father William R. Ring, which occurred in 1973 when Mary Jane was an 11 year old parishioner at St. Paul’s parish in Thamesville.

Father Ring died suddenly the following year at the age of 53.

Also named in the lawsuits is the Roman Catholic Diocese of London.

The most disturbing aspect of these two cases is that both priests were Seminary professors together at St. Peter’s Seminary in London during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Both were transferred from their first parish assignments to Rome for higher education and later employment as Seminary professors. Both resided across the hall from each other in the Seminary at a time when Glendinning was abusing children within his room.

Are these two cases coincidence or do they demonstrate an attempt by past Diocese officials to deal with sexually deviant priests by hiding them in academic postings?

It is also now known that Father John B. Harper a convicted sexual predator spent the majority of his career serving at Regina Mundi College in London. His posting there was made shortly after parishioners from Stratford alerted the Diocese of his sexual abuse of Stratford altar boys. Father Charles Sylvestre was also posted to both Mount St. Joseph’s and to Regina Mundi College, both Catholic educational facilities at the time. Both postings were made after parishioners had reported Sylvestre sexual abuse of minors.

Father Tom Doyle in his book Sex Priests, and Secret Codes - The Catholic Church's 2000 year paper trail of Sexual Abuse (Los Angeles: Volt Press, 2006) concludes that the Church:

By de facto tolerating such abuse while at the same time proclaiming the sexual safety of its members, a situation is created that restricts the ability of the authorities to properly investigate priests who abuse children and discipline then when they are found guilty. Bishops are not alone in hiding abusive bishops and priests; priest do not expose brother priests they know to be abusing minors; this is part of the secret system that can also involve lay Catholics who feel it would be disloyal to speak up.(p.81.)

In the conclusion of his book Father Doyle expresses a hope for the future:

The long sad history of sexual abuse by clergy has been written. Now the church - priests and people - have a chance to write a different record - one of mutual concern and effective protection of the vulnerable, and support for the trustworthiness and integrity of the clergy. (p.294.)

Both Richard and Mary Jane hope that their lawsuits will further expose the reality about the Roman Catholic Church’s treatment of sexual predators within their ranks. Both hold the same hopes as that of Father Doyle in seeking more open and responsible action by the Church leaders of today and tomorrow.

Attached to this Press Release are copies of the Statements of Claim in each case which have been filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice today at the Middlesex County Courthouse, located in London.

Both victims are willing to provide interviews to the media and can be contacted through Paul Ledroit of Ledroit Beckett Litigation Lawyers at (519) 673-4994, extension 14, or via email at pledroit@ledroitbeckett.com. or Robert Talach at (519) 673-4994, extension 31, or (519) 639-2807 (cell) or via email at rtalach@ledroitbeckett.com.