Update:
- St. Kevin’s parish in Newfoundland will keep part of its multimillion dollar fundraiser and will now own its own church and parish hall as part of a settlement with the Catholic Church in Canada.
- Although the parish had hoped to keep all the fundraiser money, the Catholic Church sought to pay survivors of abuse at a city orphanage.
- Kyle Rees, the lawyer for the small parish, said the settlement was significant. “It becomes the first Catholic church in this province, likely one of the first in Canada, to own itself,” he told CTV News.
- The church had asked a Newfoundland and Labrador court to declare it owned the $5.5 million raised in the fundraiser; however, the lawyers for the parish and archdiocese reached the settlement a day before the Supreme Court hearing.
Catholic Church Sexual Abuse Settlement Fundraiser Overview:
- Who: The Catholic Church in Canada is asking a judge to declare that funds a local church raised to fix its steps are in fact owned by the archdiocese.
- Why: The church is trying to work out how to pay a multimillion dollar settlement it owes to those who were sexually abused at its Mount Cashel orphanage in St. John’s during the 1940s and 1950s.
- Where: The request has been made in a Newfoundland and Labrador court in Canada.
(02/10/2022)
The Catholic church in Canada is asking a judge to rule that funds a local parish raised to maintain its church building and run its food bank are in fact owned by the archdiocese and can be taken to help pay upcoming sexual abuse settlements.
The church has asked a Newfoundland and Labrador court to decide if the $5.7 million that the small parish of St. Kevin’s surprised itself by raising in 2017 actually belongs to the archdiocese, The Canadian Press reports. The archdiocese wants the funds to help pay survivors of physical and sexual abuse at a former orphanage in St. John’s.
St. Kevin’s, in the Goulds neighbourhood of St. John’s, raised the funds somewhat accidentally,when it held a Chase the Ace lottery in 2017 in the hopes of drumming up enough money to fix the church’s front steps, the parish’s lawyer Kyle Rees told the Canadian Press.
The fundraiser saw tens of thousands of people flood into the neighbourhood for a chance at the jackpot, raising millions of dollars, and attracting national attention for the parish.
“To our knowledge, this is a unique case in this country,” Rees said.
Church Expects To Face Claims Totalling More Than $50 Million
Last January, a Supreme Court of Canada ruling found the Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of St. John’s liable for physical and sexual abuse committed at the Mount Cashel orphanage in St. John’s during the 1940s and ’50s.
The four lead plaintiffs have filed for a payout of nearly $2.4 million.The church expects at least 100 more victims to come forward with claims totalling more than $50 million, court documents show.
The archdiocese is currently working out how to pay the claims and has filed for creditor protection seeking time to come up with a plan, which may include selling off properties, including 19 churches in St. John’s.
A trustee report filed in the Supreme Court says the archdiocese first needs to know if it can claim St. Kevin’s fundraising money before it finalizes its plans.
“The trustee is presently of the view that the (funds) are an asset of the corporation and as such, are available for division amongst the creditors,” the report says.
However, Rees says it would be wrong for the archdiocese to take the fundraising money just so it doesn’t have to sell property.
An independent arbitrator ruled on the issue last November and found the money belongs to St. Kevin’s because the woman who filed the paperwork specified that the lottery funds should be used for upkeep of the parish and its cemetery, as well as maintaining its food bank.
The Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of St. John’s is asking the Supreme Court to give a binding decision on the matter as part of the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, which will be considered on Feb. 28.
Do you think the parish should give up its fundraiser to help pay the settlement? Let us know in the comments!
Individuals who were sexually assaulted or sexually abused at church, school or during youth activities may be able to hold the perpetrators—as well as the institutions where the abuse occurred—accountable by filing a civil lawsuit (links to paid attorney content).
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One thought on Catholic Church Wants to Take Funds From Small Parish’s Fundraiser to Help Pay Abuse Settlement
This is so wrong. Let them continue to help people and repair the property.