After an arrest warrant was issued by Canadian authorities for Bishop Raymond Lahey of the Roman Catholic diocese of Antigonish in Nova Scotia for child pornography, the whereabouts of Bishop Lahey are unknown.
Bishop Lahey had his resignation accepted by Pope Benedict XVI over the weekend, followed by his hasty departure from his Diocese. Bishop Lahey is known for his brokering of a $15M settlement with child sex abuse victims in the diocese. He was caught with child pornography on his laptop while coming through Canadian security after an overseas trip.
Let’s hope the Mounties get their man, quickly.
Once again the betrayal and sexual exploitation of children comes front and center with another “pillar” of the church. A diocesan spokesman voiced concern for the parishioners and priests of the diocese, but made no mention of the children exploited in the case. It is not shocking that the communications director reaffirms that the focus is always on the church and not on the victims.
I have two questions. The first question is where is the Bishop and why has he not turned himself in? The second question, is the Catholic church aiding and abetting a fugitive from justice? This would not be a first time occurence. Perhaps Cardinal Law needs an assistant in Rome?
Articles on the story are available at Abuse Tracker or the following links:
The Canadian Press
Lifesite
CBC News
The Chronicle Herald
Just a quick note, the Catholic Church would like to remind you that the problems of sexual exploitation, molestation, battery and rape by priests are things of the past. All is well! Just keep on stroking those checks, your money is being used for good purposes!
Can you still find reasons to try to block legislation to protect children from abuses by these people?
Off My Knees - A Blog by Michael Baumann 
I can’t comprehend how anyone can still be a Catholic.
I can’t comprehend how you expect the faithful to leave the church because of terrible acts committed by a minority of the priests. I for one will not resign my Catholic faith, despite my disgust for the child abuse scandal. The abuse has nothing to do with me being Catholic.
I expect the faithful to hold the hierarchy of the church accountable for their actions. The abuse has everything to do with you being Catholic. If all you are is disgusted, if that is as far as it goes for you and other “Faithful Catholics”, you will find the abuse will continue and you will be steeped in your disgust as your donations and tithing go to defending, housing, protecting and paying salaries to pedophiles. My disgust is reserved for people who sit back and do nothing. My contempt is reserved for those who blindly follow a seriously flawed hierarchy and those who are active apologists for these monsters and the bishops that support and hide them. Those that say this is not a Catholic problem, that pedophiles exist in every walk of life are missing the point that the pedophiles that wear Roman collars are getting a pass while child get hurt.