Raymond Lahey

Raymond John Lahey (born 29 May 1940) is a Canadian former Bishop of the Catholic Church. He was Bishop of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, from 2003 to 2009. Lahey was charged in 2009 with the importation of child pornography. He was suspended from the exercise of his priestly and sacramental functions, resigned as bishop in 2009, and was laicized in 2012.

Raymond Lahey
Diocese	Antigonish
See	Antigonish (emeritus)
Installed	5 April 2003
Term ended	26 September 2009
Predecessor	Colin Campbell
Successor	Brian Dunn
Orders
Ordination	13 June 1963
Consecration	3 August 1986
Laicized	2012
Personal details
Born	29 May 1940 St. John's, Newfoundland
Nationality	Canadian
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Residence	Antigonish, Nova Scotia
Occupation	former member of clergy
Profession	priest

Education

Lahey was born in St. John's, Newfoundland, on 29 May 1940. He attended St. Paul University at the University of Ottawa, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Theology in 1961, a Licentiate in Theology (L.Th.) in 1963 and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) (magna cum laude) in 1966.[1]

He was ordained on 13 June 1963.

Career

Lahey served in both clerical and academic positions first in Newfoundland and Labrador, and later in Nova Scotia.[1]

• Administrator of Holy Cross Parish, Diocese of Grand Falls, Holyrood
• Pastor of St. Peter's Parish, Archdiocese of St. John's, Mount Pearl
• Vicar General of the Archdiocese of St. John's, St. John's
• Assistant Professor, Department of Religious Studies, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's
• Proctor of St. John's College, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's
• Associate Professor, Department of Religious Studies, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's
• Department Head, Department of Religious Studies, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's
• Member of the Senate of Memorial University, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's
• Member of the Provincial Religious Education Committee, Newfoundland and Labrador
• Served on two Roman Catholic school boards, Newfoundland and Labrador
• Served on the Belvedere Orphanage Trust, Newfoundland and Labrador
• Vice-Chairman of the Roman Catholic 200th Anniversary Committee, Newfoundland and Labrador (included preparations for the 1984 Papal Visit by Pope John Paul II to the province)

Bishop

• Named Bishop of the Diocese of St. George's on 8 July 1986 by Pope John Paul II. Consecrated on 3 August 1986 in Corner Brook.
• Named Bishop of Antigonish by John Paul on 5 April 2003.[2] Installed there on 12 June 2003.
• Pope Benedict XVI accepted his resignation on 26 September 2009,[3] after child pornography was discovered on his laptop.[4]

Academic contributions

• author of studies and articles on theology and church history
• contributor to the Dictionary of Canadian Biography
• member of several scholarly boards, including the American Academy of Religion

Abuse scandal

On 7 August 2009, Lahey announced that the Diocese of Antigonish had reached a $15 million settlement in a class action lawsuit filed by victims of sexual abuse by diocese priests dating to 1950.[5] The settlement was approved by the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia on 10 September 2009.[6][7] In 2012 the diocese satisfied its legal obligations to pay out $15 million to the victims of sexual abuse, after selling a large number of its properties, liquidating the bank accounts of many of its churches, and borrowing $6.5 million from private lenders.[8]

Criminal charges and laicization

On 15 September 2009, Lahey returned to Canada from London with a passport bearing visas from Thailand and other Asian countries.[9]). At Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport, Canada Border Services Agency officers performed a random search of Lahey's laptop computer and allegedly uncovered "images . . . that were of concern." Lahey was allowed to continue his journey home to Nova Scotia, but the computer was seized. The Ottawa Police Service alleged that a later forensic examination revealed child pornography.[10]

Lahey pleaded guilty to a charge of "possession of child pornography for the purpose of importation" on 4 May 2011. He requested imprisonment, surrendering his right to bail.[11] That same day, the Holy See acknowledged the plea and announced that it would continue its own process "which will result in the imposition of the appropriate disciplinary or penal measures".[12] On 4 January 2012, he was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment and 24 months of probation. Under Canadian law, time spent in pre-trial detention was credited at a two-to-one rate against a criminal sentence. Lahey’s eight months in pre-trial detention counted as 16 months against his 15-month sentence, and he was discharged on the same day.[13][14][lower-alpha 1]

On 16 May 2012, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops announced that Lahey had been laicized.[15]

Notes

1. The federal law that allowed judges to give 2-for-1 credit for time spent in pre-trial detention had been repealed in 2010, but applied in Lahey's case because the statute was still in effect when he was charged in 2009.[13][14]

References

1. (PDF) http://thechronicleherald.ca/pdfs/bishopbio.pdf. Retrieved 1 October 2009. Missing or empty |title= (help)
2. "Rinunce e Nomine, 05.04.2003" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
3. "Rinunce e Nomine,26.09.2009" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
4. "N.S. bishop wanted on child porn charges". Archived from the original on 3 October 2009. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
5. Ludlow, Jennifer. "More church properties for sale to cover cost of sex-abuse deal". CBC News. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
6. "Court approves $15M church sex-abuse deal". Archived from the original on 14 September 2009. Retrieved 1 October 2009.
7. "Antigonish Diocese: Sexual Abuse Class Action Lawsuit". McKiggan Hebert - Halifax Personal Injury Lawyers. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
8. "Diocese of Antigonish starts church review". The Chronicle Herald. 14 April 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
9. Blanchfield, Mike (4 May 2011). "Bishop pleads guilty to importing child pornography". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
10. The Chronicle Herald. 4 October 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20091004004222/http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/1145376.html. Archived from the original on 4 October 2009. Missing or empty |title= (help)
11. "Vatican decries Canadian bishop's actions, offers prayers for diocese". Catholic News Agency. 5 May 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
12. "Statement of the Holy See Press Office, 04.05.2011" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. 4 May 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
13. "Bishop Lahey gets time served for child porn". CBC News. 4 January 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
14. Seymour, Andrew (4 January 2012). "Disgraced bishop Raymond Lahey freed for time already served for child porn". Ottawa Citizen.
15. "Vatican laicizes Canadian bishop convicted of importing child porn". National Catholic Reporter. Catholic News Service. 16 May 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2019.

External links

• Notice of class action lawsuit settlement - September 10, 2009
• Letter from Archbishop Anthony Mancini to Diocese of Antigonish - September 26, 2009
• Letter from Bishop Raymond Lahey to Diocese of Antigonish - September 26, 2009
• Press release by Archbishop Anthony Mancini - September 30, 2009
• Press release by Archbishop Anthony Mancini - October 1, 2009