Canadian court approves sale of Roman Catholic properties

By Barry Ellsworth

TRENTON, Canada (AA) - A Canadian court has approved the sale of 42 Catholic Church properties and the proceeds will go to victims who endured sexual and physical abuse at an orphanage, local media reported Monday.

The church had previously been deemed responsible for the abuse of boys aged eight to 17 who were placed in the Mount Cashel Orphanage in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador (NL). The funds from the sale will go to victims from the 1940s, '50s and '60s. The orphanage also operated as a foster home for wards of the province.

While no dollar figure has been placed on the settlement with victims, Archbishop Peter Hundt said plans are to sell another 70 properties, presumably for compensating victims.

The orphanage was run by the Irish Christian Brothers, a Roman Catholic lay order.

Stories of the abuse circulated for years, and a police investigation in 1975 closed with no repercussions on the lay brothers.

But the tales of abuse grew more numerous and louder and the investigation was reopened in February 1989.

"Over the following months, the public learned that the (orphanage) had for decades been the site of repeated acts of physical and sexual abuse performed by Christian Brothers against boys who lived there as wards of the state," Heritage N.L. reported on its website.

"It also learned that police, government, and religious authorities were aware of the abuse but took little action, despite complaints from residents and confessions from two of the brothers. Local newspapers ignored or downplayed the allegations."

The Christian Brothers apologized to victims in 1992 and later paid CAN$16 million ($12.2 million), while the province paid CAN$11 million ($8.5 million) to victims for its role in sending boys to the orphanage.

The sale of the 42 properties was uncovered when the court-appointed sales monitor, Ernst & Young, filed a report with the court Monday.