There was a sadness about Pope Francis when he arrived in Canada on his tour of “penance” last week. He’s a decent fellow and genuinely has offered apologies and sought forgiveness for the sins of the Roman Catholic Church against Indigenous children in church-run schools. 

Sins of the fathers

As the years roll on, I have learned more about “the sins of the fathers.” Somewhere between my teens and here I wish I were less forgiving. I wish there had been a Christian Brother or a priest who might have offered some form of explanation as to what went on. There were some exceptionally good men among the Brothers and the priests, but something went horribly off the rails and not enough people spoke up. I was not sexually abused, but I was certainly physically abused and emotionally abused. What’s startling is that even into adulthood we spoke of the wonderful education we received. 

It’s not that we did not know what was going on. Everyone knew. The activities of Father Jim Hickey were well known to us. There were others we knew about. You knew where you had to keep your distance. I was never a “teachers’ pet.”

 I lived in the west end, so after school I mostly went home and did not have time to hang around, but I knew somehow school was an odd place and there was something dark about it. Looking back, I scratch my head. There were friends at school and there were teachers that I liked, but I was afraid in a way. Afraid to go to school. That’s how the place worked. Fear was all over the place. 

‘Merry Monks of Cashel’

Here’s a strange one. My favourite Christian Brother did some time in jail for “interfering” with young boys. None of it had anything to do with me. I liked that teacher. He was truly kind to me. He was sent away from St. Bon’s and went into therapy at a place called Mono Mills in Ontario. 

When he was sent back to Newfoundland he was assigned to Mount Cashel Orphanage to be with, as Ray Guy called them, “The Merry Monks of Cashel.” 

Brother Smith (not his real name) must have thought he hit the jackpot in the lottery. Why wouldn’t I use his real name? I do not know. There were no girls at St. Bon’s, so in the Spring Concert the female leads were played by boys in dresses. The school even had its own wardrobe of dresses. I wore one at a concert. In retrospect it was all weird. There was one Brother on staff who taught us boys baton twirling. What a notion! 

How does all this link to Pope Francis? I do not know. I wish someone would explain it to me. 

NTV’s Jim Furlong can be reached by emailing: jfurlong@ntv.ca

On November 29, 2021, Bill C-4, a bill to amend the criminal code making it illegal to practice conversion therapy in Canada, was tabled. 

NL’s own Gemma Hickey was invited to Ottawa by the Minister of Justice to witness this pivotal moment in the House of Commons.  

We sit down with Hickey to talk Pride and the advances made towards ending prejudice for those in the LGBTQQIP2SAA community.

 How did it make you feel when you realized real change would be forthcoming?

I never thought I’d live to see this day. My life could’ve ended as a statistic. I attempted suicide as a teenager because I saw a conversion therapist and spent the start of my senior year of high school in hospital recovering. I spoke at the press conference following the tabling of the bill alongside Ministers David Lametti, Marci Ien, Randy Boissonnault, Pascale St-Onge, and Rob Oliphant MP and dedicated my speech to all the members of my community whose lives ended tragically by suicide. 

Following the presser, I met with fellow Newfoundlander and Labradorian Minister Seamus O’Regan to celebrate. 

What exactly is conversion therapy? Can you explain to those who don’t know? 

It’s a pseudo-medical practice of attempting to change a person’s sexual orientation and gender identity to heterosexual or cisgender. Misleading marketing campaigns have promoted this view for years enabling countless vulnerable youth to be placed in harm’s way. 

Efforts to restrict and ban the practice have recently gained momentum due to the hard work of survivors like myself, who have shared our stories in the hopes that others will be spared. Together we formed a network and created the political will that converted a country. On December 2, 2021, through a rare occurrence of bi-partisan cooperation, conversion therapy became illegal in Canada. A bittersweet victory because of all the causalities my community endured.

It’s Pride season across the country. How far have we come? Are we getting to where we need to be? 

The activist in me was born the day I left that hospital. No one believed me that conversion therapy existed back then. I devoted the next three decades of my life to advocacy co-leading movements that fostered societal recognition, such as same-sex marriage, gender neutral identification, the removal of the gay blood ban, and so on. 

Locally, I became General Director of LBGT-MUN, co-chair of NGALE and chair of Pride until becoming more involved on the national scene as the Presidents of Egale Canada, PFLAG Canada and a founding member of Canadians for Equal Marriage. I’ve witnessed, and been a part of massive societal change, and although we’ve made great strides, we’re not there yet. 

We need accessible healthcare for transgender individuals, improved mental health supports for the LGBTQQIP2SAA community and representation within our education system. Also, if businesses and organizations are celebrating Pride and not updating their forms or computer systems to include gender-neutral options and the honorific Mx., they’re not practicing inclusivity. After I won my fight for gender-neutral identification I wrote airplanes, universities, insurance companies, etc. That fight continues to this day.

In July of 2015 you walked almost 1,000 kilometers across Newfoundland to raise funds and awareness for survivors of religious institutional abuse. The anniversary of your Hope Walk is coming up. Does the journey continue?

The journey never ends. I knew in 2013 when I founded the Pathways Foundation that we had only scratched the surface when it came to this issue. It’s been almost seven years since I ended my walk at the Mount Cashel Memorial in St. John’s. Since that time countless bodies of children have been discovered across the country at the former sites of residential schools and more allegations have surfaced against clergy all over the world. I formed a network with other Canadian survivors called ACTS Canada (Advocates for Clergy Trauma Survivors). 

We’ve been to Rome twice to lobby church officials to release church records, to the United Nations in Geneva to lobby against child torture and launched a national campaign to lobby the church to release the names of the credibly accused. Except for the UN, all other attempts remain futile, forcing survivors to litigate or remain in the shadows.

What is ‘On The Fringe’? can you expand this to fit two lines?

In my day job as Executive Director of Artforce (formerly For The Love Of Learning) I offer support to youth, many of whom are marginalized within society. They struggle with homelessness, addiction, mental health, etc. As an arts-based charity we offer creative projects in film, writing, photography, music, theatre, art, etc. We pair young people up with well-known artists from the community through workshops and mentorship programs and promote their work at festivals, exhibits, on stage or in a publication. On The Fringe is our latest production in partnership with Walsh Productions. It debuted on CBC Here & Now recently and highlights the challenges that sex workers faced during the pandemic. Some of our clients are sex workers and as a result couldn’t apply for government support during Covid-19. 

Do you have any bucket list items left to conquer? 

Always. I’ve got several projects ongoing now. I’m working on my second book and my first feature length documentary film. But I wouldn’t rule out politics or another long walk in my future. 

Every situation, good or bad, is an opportunity. My losses in life have turned me into a winner. 

While many see you as a leader and an advocate for all, do you see yourself as inspirational? 

I don’t really think about how others see me. I only think about how I see myself. When I look in the mirror now, I’m finally happy with the image staring back. I learned how to become the hero of my own story. I may not have faith in the institution of the church anymore, but I have faith in the people around me who inspire me every day. 

That’s because, despite being an old St. Bon’s boy and a member of the Catholic Church in more or less good standing,  whatever was visited upon the Church these days was somehow a case of the chickens coming home to roost. 

It was a form of belated delayed justice. Now the actual perpetrators of hideous crimes against children at Mount Cashel have mostly gone to judgment and some of them are shoveling coal in Hell, but it is right and fitting that compensation to their victims has been ordered and there’s a piper that’s to be finally paid. 

Now I did watch with interest as some people in other parishes complained their properties were in danger of being sold when they, the parishioners, had done so much fundraising to keep their parishes going and now might have their churches sold out from under them to pay for crimes in which they had absolutely no part or knowledge.

Now I tell you any attempts by people associated with a liquidation of assets, while decent and honourable, have their pleas fall on my deaf ears when they see themselves as somehow “victims.”

I know a victim when I see one and there’s the haunting image of little boys crying in a dorm at places like Mount Cashel that haunt my thoughts; not church buildings going on sale.  

All of that’s prelude now to the news that a Catholic consortium has successfully purchased the Basilica, St. Bonaventure’s private school and the St. Bon’s Forum. The purchasing group raised millions of dollars, although it’s yet to be approved by a judge. I was approached for a donation by the fundraising appeal. 

A suggested donation was ten thousand dollars or a smaller amount. I did not donate ten thousand dollars because I do not have it and I can tell you here I did not give a smaller amount because I did not want to. 

 Now here’s what’s interesting is that despite my intellectual disinterest in saving the Basilica from turning into a condominium and the other properties falling into secular hands, when the decision was announced I felt an emotional sigh of relief. That’s the hold the Church has on me. On some level I want St. Bon’s to be there. I want the Basilica to be there glowering out over the harbour of St. John’s. I find solace in the fact that at least I did not give them any money.      

NTV’s Jim Furlong can be reached by emailing: jfurlong@ntv.ca

As some prepare to celebrate Easter with family and friends this year, others won’t be gathered about tables piled high with food and sweets. 

Facing a variety of mental health challenges, addictions and life’s circumstances, many of our fellow Newfoundlanders and Labradorians will spend the holy season quietly at home, or in safe havens like The Gathering Place in St. John’s. 

While there’s a whole host of reasons for being or feeling isolated, for too many the cause stems from abuse. 

The former Mount Cashel Orphanage, operated by the Irish Christian Brothers, is sadly well known for the abuse some of its staff and clergy inflicted upon young boys in their care during the 1940s, ‘50s and 60s. 

Described as Tragic

On Feb. 15th, 1989 the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary re-opened its 1975 investigation into child abuse on those premises. Soon after, the provincial government of the day established a Royal Commission, headed by retired Ontario Supreme Court Judge, Samuel Hughes, to investigate what occurred. 

What was uncovered could only be described as tragic, and bottom line, despite multiple and repeated complaints to authorities, everyone – from multiple government officials to the police to local newspapers – ignored what was being reported. Now, a generation later, following court battles galore, the local Catholic Church prepares to sell off many of their assets to pay restitution to those who suffered. 

As a result, many churches throughout the province will not be holding mass inside their stained-glass buildings this Easter season. The list of buildings and churches being sold to pay for the sins of those few in charge back in the day is long and few communities are spared.  

Basilica Complex will be sold. So too will St. Patrick’s and St. Teresa’s Parish churches. Corpus Christi, St. Pius X, the church that held so many heartfelt tribute services to those lost on the Ocean Ranger, Mary Queen of Peace Parish will all be sold. St. Edwards in Kelligrews too. Holy Family? Gone. St. Peter’s, St. Francis of Assisi, Holy Trinity. The list goes on. And the emotional impact is real. 

Generations were married in these churches. Children were baptized and received their first Holy Communion. Loved ones were laid to rest. Thousands upon thousands of school children over the years twisted and turned and squirmed in their wooden pews near friends doing the same as they were taught the rosary and learned to recite the well known prayer that begins, “Our Father…” as part of their schooling. Memories were made. 

Laughter was shared. Tears were shed. 

Feel the pain

Now? It’s all gone. What makes this tale of abuse and restitution even more sad is that none of this will go far enough. 

Lawyer Geoff Budden, who represents survivors, has said he’s pleased the Catholic Church is moving ahead selling assets to pay the awarded claim, which includes the Archbishop’s residence in Outer Cove, but the properties sold won’t go near far enough. 

The total judgement was for $2.7 million, to be split between four men, but the claims are not complete and there’s well over 60 more men from Budden’s law firm alone that require compensation for abuse suffered at the hands of those in a position of power within the Catholic church. Tragic. Sad. Terrible. 

It’s all those things, but while my heart breaks for all those who suffered abuse, I can’t help but feel the pain of the many parishioners who, though no fault of their own, following decades of faithful attendance and church dues, must now walk away from their church, never to return again. 

While restitution usually means dollar signs, it’s so clear that the costs runs so much higher than monetary.

Pam Pardy, The Herald’s Managing Editor, can be reached by emailing pghent@nfldherald.com

Let me tell you when government turns over the care of children in need to a religious organization you will find trouble. That trouble stems from the fact that the organization in question thinks it’s doing the work of God.

THE MOST VULNERABLE

Whatever book you look that up in you will find somewhere the name: Mount Cashel. If you are dealing with a group that’s absolutely convinced the members are doing the will of God, it’s a recipe for disaster. There’s lots of blame to go round.

Somewhere in government, they decided that forced assimilation was a good idea and that a religious group could help.

Here in Newfoundland, as we have seen over the years through Mount Cashel and other schools, a religious group is a great place where a criminal can hide convinced by daily prayers and a belief system that everything is alright. What makes the situation particularly sickening is that the people affected, wherever it’s in the country or the world for that matter, are those that are not able to help themselves. They are the most vulnerable; like those in residential schools. There’s nowhere to turn.

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In my own school in Newfoundland, I had parents to turn to. I had not been in the care of government passed on to a religious group like at Mount Cashel. It was not a forced assimilation, but it was a religious group put in a position of near-absolute authority.

There was abuse at my school, but it was not on the scale of other places where young boys were placed in the care of what Ray Guy called “The Merry Monks of Cashel.”

It can be said, however, and perhaps some insight be found in the fact that lots of us were afraid to go to school because of the power that had been passed on from government to a crowd who thought they spoke directly to Jesus and were doing God’s will.

THE DISCOVERY STAGE

There is anger now in Canada. There were calls to not celebrate Canada Day. I understand that completely. Recent events have not exactly put me in the mood for fireworks and sunrise ceremonies. We are still a great country, but with the crimes inflicted on indigenous students, we are still in “the discovery stage” so to speak.

How much more is still to be found? I am not an indigenous person, but I have at least an inkling of from whence this awful problem springs.

NTV’s Jim Furlong can be reached by emailing: jfurlong@ntv.ca